Corruption Digest - January 24, 2006

As my new book Hostile Takeover prepares to be released in the Spring, here is your January 24, 2006 briefing on how America's political system is being sold to the highest bidders. To sign up to receive the Corruption Digest in your email box, just go to www.davidsirota.com and enter your email address on the righthand side.

SUPREME COURT CORRUPTION
In a blockbuster exclusive, ABC News reports that "At the historic swearing-in of John Roberts as the 17th chief justice of the United States last September, every member of the Supreme Court, except Antonin Scalia, was in attendance. ABC News has learned that Scalia instead was on the tennis court at one of the country's top resorts, the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Bachelor Gulch, Colo., during a trip to a legal seminar sponsored by the Federalist Society. Not only did Scalia's absence appear to be a snub of the new chief justice, but according to some legal ethics experts, it also raised questions about the propriety of what critics call judicial junkets." Scalia publicly refused to tell the press where he was when he missed the swearing in. But ABC News has video of Scalia playing tennis and loafing around at a vacation paid for by the right-wing special interest group.

WHITE HOUSE CORRUPTION
The Associated Press reports that "the Washingtonian and Time magazine both reported the existence of about a half-dozen photos" showing President Bush and indicted GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff together. They appeared to have been taken at White House functions, according to the reports." The White House "insists the pictures amount to a coincidence and should not be interpreted any more seriously than that." This claim of a "coincidence" comes even though Abramoff was one of Bush's top fundraisers, and even though the Associated Press reported in May of 2005 that "in President Bush's first 10 months, GOP fundraiser Jack Abramoff and his lobbying team logged nearly 200 contacts with the new administration."

CONGRESSIONAL CORRUPTION - BOTH PARTIES
The Los Angeles Times reports that "Skyboxes are suddenly empty. Trips have been canceled. Members of Congress and their aides are insisting on paying for their own meals — if they're willing to be seen in public with a lobbyist at all. Even before new ethics rules have been put in place, the political corruption scandal sweeping down Washington's famed K Street corridor is disrupting life for those on both ends of the influence trade." That report, however, is contradicted by Roll Call, which notes that "all this talk about lobbying reforms — and the public queasiness about lobbyists mingling with Members — hasn’t stopped lawmakers from inviting K Street denizens to their private fundraising events. Calendars of both political parties are already starting to fill up."...Roll Call also reports that officials from a number of powerful, corporate-funded nonprofit organizations "that have close and long-standing ties to Members of Congress have begun to discuss seeking exemptions for their groups" from the "reform" packages being proposed.

CONGRESSIONAL CORRUPTION - REPUBLICANS
In a major investigative piece, the Los Angeles Times reports that in his quarter-century as a state legislator and U.S. representative, Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) - now at the center of the Abramoff controversy - "has demonstrated a talent for turning such political connections into opportunities for gifts, travel and other forms of personal gain." The Hill Newspaper reports that for his part, Ney said "he will run for re-election even if he is indicted for his connections to disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff." That may be disappointing to many Republicans, as Ney's behavior is so odious, that it is beginning to be featured in campaign ads in other parts of the country. As just one example, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand is airing an ad against GOP Rep. John Sweeney (NY) citing Ney, and hitting Sweeney for taking lavish ski trips with lobbyists. Clearly, however, may Republican lawmakers are so out of touch they don't even understand the public's anger over corruption. In the Senate, for example, Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R) is publicly saying congressional ethics/lobbying scandals are not of concern in the 2006 election. In the House, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that "far from having a visceral distaste for lobbyists, Republican Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (PA) welcomes all points of view, calling Washington 'a place of varied interests.'" His chief of staff "explained lobbyists 'help make good policy.'"...The Missoulian reports that Montana Sen. Conrad Burns (R) "met with a Marianas official who had close ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff in the weeks before Burns received an Abramoff-related $5,000 contribution from the Marianas and reversed his earlier position on a bill about the islands." The Associated Press notes that everywhere in Montana Burns goes he "can't escape talk of Abramoff." To fight back, the Billings Gazette notes that Burns has been handing out a 48-page packet of information to reporters "attempting to show that Abramoff did not hold sway over him." But included in the packet "is a 2001 Washington Times column by Peter Ferrara [that] upholds a view held by Abramoff clients" and put into action by Burns in the Senate. Burns is distributing this column even though Ferrara has since "confirmed he'd taken payments from Abramoff to write complimentary columns about the lobbyist's clients." Meanwhile, the Great Falls Tribune reports that despite being embroiled in scandal, Burns has been using a telecommunications industry lobbyist to officially head his campaign.Burns is clearly getting nervous about what the scandals are doing to his reputation as his 2006 re-election bid begins. For instance, the Associated Press reports "The state Republican Party asked supporters Friday to influence a newspaper's Internet poll that posed a question about Sen. Conrad Burns and lobbyist Jack Abramoff, hoping to sway the unscientific survey's results."...The nonpartisan Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW) today released a formal ethics complaint against Acting House Majority Leader Roy Blunt (R-MO). CREW is "releasing the complaint in the hopes of finding a Member of the House of Representatives willing to forward the complaint" to the House Ethics Committee for official consideration.

CONGRESSIONAL CORRUPTION - DEMOCRATS
Roll Call newspaper has an long piece on House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer's (D) noticeable reticence when it comes to talk of lobbying/ethics reform. As first reported on this website, Hoyer was bragging on his own website about setting up a K Street Project of his own to shakedown corporate lobbyists for cash (Hoyer has since removed the story from his website). That has put him in an awkward position, whereby his behavior is directly undermining Democrats' efforts to make corruption a top tier issue. As just one example, the media reported that Hoyer was noticeably absent last week when the Democrats' rolled out of their lobbying/ethics reform package. Where was he? At a fundraiser...A new Harris poll finds that with "Almost three-quarters, or 72%, of U.S. adults say that even with new laws regarding lobbying, the political culture in Washington will remain the same." The poll likely reflects, in part, the fact that neither party last week introduced sweeping reforms to actually address the problem of private money funding political campaigns. That may be about to change, however. Late last week, two top House Democrats, Reps. Dave Obey (WI) and Barney Frank (MA) announced that they will be introducing major legislation to publicly finance congressional elections. Also today, Rep. John Tierney (D-MA) led 30 House Democrats to reiterate the call to pass their already-introduced "Clean Money, Clean Elections" public financing bill. Sen. Barack Obama (D) appeared on NBC's Meet the Press to indicate his willingness to support the concept of public financing. In 2003 as an Illinois legislator, Obama passed legislation through the state Senate to publicly finance elections for the state Supreme Court, and his help in passing public financing legislation through Congress will be key. He indicated that he views the minor lobbying/ethics reform packages introduced last week by both parties as the start of a bigger debate about campaign financing. "There are some easy things that we can do that hopefully will build momentum for some of the tougher stuff, which involves, how do we reduce the enormous amounts of money in politics generally?," he said. Then, in a bold move taking on the powerful National Association of Broadcasters on NBC, one of its most powerful stations, he said "Those are going to be some tough questions, because they might involve, for example, asking the question, 'Why don’t we have free television time, or candidates, to reduce the amounts of costs?' My suspicion is that NBC, just like ABC and CBS, wouldn’t necessarily be wild about those approaches, but that’s the kind of conversation over the long term we’re going to have to have. This is the starting point."...Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) has released a letter demanding that the House Government Reform Committee subpoena all records relating to the contacts between the Bush White House and Abramoff.

STATE CORRUPTION
The New York Times reports "Stung by their own scandals, lawmakers in many states have outpaced Washington in enacting new laws intended to curb the cozy and at times corrupt relationships between lobbyists and politicians." The story follows a new Knight Ridder op-ed by John Podesta and Steve Doherty for the Progressive Legislative Action Network about a slate of lobbying/ethics reforms that must be passed in all 50 states...In California, the Associated Press reports that "a proposal seeking public financing of political campaigns passed a key committee Thursday and was sent to the full Assembly." The measure, sponsored by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) , is "patterned after systems in use in Arizona and Maine [and] would provide public money for candidates who voluntarily give up outside contributions.". In recent weeks, op-eds in the Sacramento Bee, the San Francisco Chronicle and other key papers throughout the state have appeared in support of the proposal...In Tennessee, the Tennessean reports "Top officials in the Tennessee Highway Patrol performed 'no telling how many favors and promotions' for state legislators," according to notes obtained by the newspaper. Meanwhile, the Memphis Flyer reports that lawmakers are starting to discuss the concept of publicly financing elections as a way to clean up politics in the state...In Nevada, the Assoicated Press reports "Seven state legislators received free $250 tickets to a Rolling Stones concert in November from a lobbyist for lending giant Ameriquest."...In New York, the state lobbying commission is considering a major crackdown on lax rules governing what lobbyists can give to lawmakers.

THE "SO PATHETICALLY OUT OF TOUCH" FILE
In the Roll Call story about Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, a slew of "Democratic lobbyists" are quoted complaining about Democrats stepped up criticism of corruption and lobbying/ethics abuses. One "Democratic lobbyist" was actually quoted as saying making lobbying/ethics reform a major focus is "a huge mistake for Democrats." This at the very time polls show public outrage over corruption, and Democrats are seeking to make the GOP culture of corruption a major campaign theme for 2006.

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