A m e r i c a n P o s t – G a z e t t e

Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E , in Arizona

Monday, March 15, 2009

Abramoff pal Norquist endorses McCain

Norquist took the cash; guess who McCain blames

The favorite music of the “Inside-the-Beltway” crowd seems to be the DC shuffle.

Truth is irrelevant. Getting mud to stick on your opponent is the name of the game, and McCain plays this like a Stradivarius.

The “good” Senator who tells us that character matters, has attacked JD Hayworth over a contribution from the infamous lobbyist, Jack Abramoff. To his credit, JD dropped that $2,250 gift like the hot potato it was, and turned it over to charity. Good for him.

But what about Grover Norquist whose fawning support for Senator McCain has him lapping up endorsements like a contestant in a pie eating contest?

The Washington Post reported:

“According to an investigative report on Abramoff’s lobbying released last week by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Americans for Tax Reform served as a “conduit” for funds that flowed from Abramoff’s clients to surreptitiously finance grass-roots lobbying campaigns. As the money passed through, Norquist’s organization kept a small cut, e-mails show.

A second group Norquist was involved with, the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, received about $500,000 in Abramoff client funds; the council’s president has told Senate investigators that Abramoff often asked her to lobby a senior Interior Department official on his behalf.

… in 1999, a year in which Norquist moved more than $1 million in Abramoff client money to Reed and Christian anti-gambling groups, Reed was working to defeat lotteries and casinos that would have competed with Abramoff’s tribal and Internet gambling clients.”

Norquist’s relationship with Abramoff’s gambling clients began in 1995 when Congress was considering taxing tribal casinos.

Abramoff was annoyed at the amount Norquist skimmed before sending the money on, e-mails show. “Grover kept another $25 k!” Abramoff wrote in a February, 2000 note to himself.

When the US Senate got involved, McCain was put in charge of investigating the scandal. Eventually McCain, probably seeing he could use the whole mess to his advantage, backed off on Norquist. According to one article,

“Senator John McCain has proved to be Jack Abramoff’s best friend.” Read that twice, and let it sink in.

McCain was Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee from 2005-2007, but suppressed evidence of Jack Abramoff’s role in directing illegal foreign payoffs to ranking members of the Republican Party.

Did Norquist, an anti-tax hawk, endorse McCain in spite of McCain’s terrible record on taxes, which includes voting against tax breaks, as payback for letting up on the Abramoff investigation? That is a very good question.

Listen to McCain play that fiddle! He gleefully accepts the endorsement from scandal ridden Norquist whose ties to Abramoff are slimy at best, and tries to hang Norquist – Abramoff style misdeeds around JD’s neck, knowing full well that JD walked away from that mess clean as a whistle. My friends, character indeed matters. McCain does not seem to have any.

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