KXYL's James Williamson got his Delay * talking points
Republicans comment on Tom Delay
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Joe Conason
The New York Observer
04.13.05
DeLay's 'moral' defenders ignore his sleazy allies
Hammer crew seems reminiscent of the old Cosa Nostra
As the rhetoric of the radical right turns shrill and even violent, the stunning moral emptiness of its leadership can no longer be ignored. Pious politicians and political preachers may hope to divert attention from their disgrace by threatening judges or denouncing the media. But what has emerged from the scandals surrounding House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is a dark portrait of Washington's conservative elite, whose behavior should repel every American honestly concerned about "moral values."
For a moment, set aside the issues raised by Mr. DeLay's acceptance of possibly illegal favors from foreign interests, which are now the subject of several federal investigations. Forget all his sleazy favor-mongering and bullying. Consider instead the character of the lobbyists who have risen to the commanding heights of the capital economy, thanks to their connections with him -- and compare the morality of their business practices with the "family values" propaganda that keeps them and their patrons in power.
The top dog in this predatory pack, until lately, was Jack Abramoff, a super-lobbyist whose status as Mr. DeLay's close friend, fund-raiser and golfing buddy brought him wealth and power. Known to his peers as "Casino Jack," Mr. Abramoff and his associates have apparently conned several Indian tribes out of as much as $80 million. According to reports in the National Journal and other news sources, the Republican lobbyists played the tribes against each other as they competed for gambling permits and market share.
Among the consultants recruited by Mr. Abramoff to operate the Indian casino scheme was Ralph Reed, the famed evangelical Christian activist who founded the Christian Coalition with Pat Robertson, and who now hopes to be elected lieutenant governor of Georgia. For a sweet fee of $4 million, Mr. Reed concocted "grass-roots anti-gambling" groups that Mr. Abramoff then deployed to stifle the tribal competitors of his clients.
For a skillful hypocrite like Mr. Reed, it was simple enough to "get our pastors riled up" against yet another sinful establishment -- as he boasted in an e-mail to Mr. Abramoff -- because they understood gambling's destructive effects on families. At one point, he even persuaded James Dobson, probably the most powerful evangelical leader in the country, to organize opposition to a proposed casino in Texas.
Surely Mr. Dobson, who warns against the evils of gambling in his broadcast diatribes, didn't realize he was putting his huge Focus on the Family network to work for "Casino Jack." (Mr. Reed also claims that he didn't know what Mr. Abramoff was doing. Nobody believes him.) But Mr. Dobson has yet to speak out against the crooked matrix that misled him so badly, or the political leadership in Washington that profits from it.
Still uglier than the Indian gaming affair -- and more directly implicating Mr. DeLay -- is the story of Mr. Abramoff's clientele in the northern Marianas Islands. The Pacific commonwealth serves as a haven for garment sweatshops that evade U.S. labor and immigration laws while legally labeling their products "Made in the U.S.A." Nearly every big name in the American rag trade has dealt with factories there.
Several years ago, the gross abuse of the laborers in the islands -- mostly young women imported from China and Thailand -- drew unwanted attention from the federal government. When Clinton administration officials proposed to crack down on the Marianas sweatshops and labor contractors, the commonwealth's ruling elite hired Mr. Abramoff to protect them. He sponsored dozens of luxury junkets to the islands for Republican politicians and commentators, spread around plenty of campaign money, and soon had Mr. DeLay pledging to defend the Marianas factories from modern labor standards.
The conditions endured by the women workers in the islands ought to have shocked any religious conscience. Swindled, starved and overworked, many of them were ultimately forced into prostitution -- and when they got pregnant, they were forced to endure abortions. Young women who arrived expecting to work in restaurants found themselves suddenly hustled into topless bars, where they were coerced into drinking and having sex with customers. And they often were deprived of the money paid by the johns.
Promoted by Mr. DeLay and Mr. Abramoff as a libertarian utopia, the islands were actually a sinkhole of indentured slavery and sex tourism. Enchanted by all the easy money and free vacations, however, those Washington worthies and their friends disregarded the suffering.
With sweatshops, whorehouses and casinos as the commercial underpinnings of their little empire, and with their thuggish approach to campaigns and debates, the DeLay crew seems reminiscent of the old Cosa Nostra. Yet such unsavory parallels don't disturb the right-wing establishment. Rallying behind Mr. DeLay are the Family Research Council, the Heritage Foundation, the Free Congress Foundation, the American Conservative Union and the rest of the "movement," with everyone fervently declaring, amid displays of piety and indignation, that his defense is their next great crusade.
If and when the Hammer falls, their credibility will crash with him.
Joe Conason writes for the New York Observer and Salon.com, and is the author of Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth.
For more Conason columns, see his archive.
E-mail Conason at jconason@observer.com.
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The Delay Talking Points: " DeLay recommended that senators respond to questions by saying Democrats have no agenda other than partisanship, and are attacking him to prevent Republicans from accomplishing their legislative program. "
And James accuses the Democrats of gettng a fax of what to say ! Pot calling the Kettle Black ? James, what about your comment where you said the only thing the Liberals use a Bible for is to stand on while peeking into someones window. Are you speaking from first hand experience ?
http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/politicsnational_story_103122313.html
CBS 2 Chicago WBBM-TV | cbs2chicago.com
Newt Gingrich Criticizes DeLay
* DeLay Urges GOP Senators To Blame Democrats When Asked About Controversy
Apr 13, 2005 11:21 am US/Central
There was fresh criticism Tuesday of embattled House Majority Leader Tom DeLay from a prominent member of his own party.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News Correspondent Gloria Borger, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said it's time for DeLay to stop blaming a left-wing conspiracy for his ethics controversy and to lay out his case for the American people to judge.
"I don’t want to prejudge him and my hope is that Tom will be able to prove his case," said Gingrich, who engineered the Republican takeover of the House in 1994. "But I think the burden is on him to prove it at this point."
Is he doing that? "I don’t know yet. I think the jury's out," said Gingrich.
"DeLay's problem isn’t with the Democrats; DeLay's problem is with the country," Gingrich continued. "And so DeLay has a challenge: to lay out a case that the country comes to believe, that the country decides is legitimate. If he does that he's fine."
Hoping to hold support among fellow Republicans, DeLay urged GOP senators Tuesday to blame Democrats if asked about his ethics controversy. He also accused the news media of twisting supportive comments so they sounded like criticism.
Officials said DeLay recommended that senators respond to questions by saying Democrats have no agenda other than partisanship, and are attacking him to prevent Republicans from accomplishing their legislative program. One Republican said the Texan referred to a "mammoth operation" funded by Democratic supporters and designed to destroy him as a symbol of the Republican majority.
DeLay also thanked Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., for his recent comments and said the news media had twisted them to make them sound critical, the officials added, all speaking on condition of anonymity.
In an appearance on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday, Santorum said DeLay "has to come forward and lay out what he did and why he did it and let the people then judge for themselves. But from everything I've heard, again, from the comments and responding to those, is everything he's done was according to the law."
The officials who described DeLay's brief remarks noted that the session, a regularly scheduled weekly lunch, was held under rules of secrecy. Dan Allen, DeLay's spokesman, declined comment.
DeLay's case is at the heart of a broader controversy in the House, where Democrats accuse Republicans of unilaterally changing ethics committee rules to prevent any further investigation of DeLay. Republicans have denied the allegation.
The panel arranged a meeting for Wednesday, and Rep. Alan Mollohan of West Virginia, the senior Democrat, said he would renew a push for a bipartisan rewrite of the rules that Republicans put into effect in January on a party-line vote. Officials in both parties said they knew of no compromise discussions.
One senior Republican spoke sympathetically of DeLay after the closed-door meeting.
"I hope he survives, and I hope he will stay in there and do his job," said Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss.
"The power of prayer is the only thing that will sustain you" in the circumstance DeLay is in, Lott added, and he spoke disparagingly of any Republicans who fail to stand by the Texan.
"That's the problem, you know, Republicans eat their own. ... Democrats stand by their own until hell freezes over," said Lott, who was ousted as Senate majority leader two years ago after making controversial race-based comments at a birthday party for the late Strom Thurmond.
DeLay was admonished three times last year by the House ethics committee. Recent articles have disclosed that his wife and daughter were paid approximately $500,000 in recent years by political organizations under his control, and have raised questions about the financing of three overseas trips he took.
DeLay has consistently denied any violation of either law or House rules.
His private remarks to Senate Republicans were in keeping with the response frequently offered on his behalf by House Republicans: Blame the Democrats and occasionally the news media for the scrutiny he faces. House Republicans intend to follow the script later in the week, hoping to showcase passage of bankruptcy legislation and estate tax repeal as a counterpoint to Democratic charges that they are merely power-hungry.
Several Republicans stressed that DeLay's appearance at the senators' lunch was routine, noting that GOP leaders of one house have begun attending meetings of the rank and file of the other house in recent weeks.
His remarks were "very low-key. It wasn't demanding or threatening or pounding the table," Lott said afterward.
source: http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/politicsnational_story_103122313.html
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