Whether it’s the aftermath of Katrina, the looming wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the proceeding events leading up to 9/11, and the recent overly friendly email exchange between a Congress and a 16 year old Congressional Page, from the White House to Capitol Hill, the Republicans have engineered a policy of cover up.

No matter what the issue, if reporters snoop to close, if winds of bad news hit the American People, immediately begin an aggressive spin campaign to either cover up, smooth over, and push back to discredit the source. Do anything to preserve our majority. Paint the democrats as weak on defense, even as credible evidence surface that depicts the Administration as dysfunctional and uninterested, when told of the eminent threat to this country.

Katrina was just a collapse at all levels of government, but especially at the federal level. The other day while watching a major award show for news anchors and news sponsored documentaries, Brian Williams from NBC received an award for his reporting on Katrina. I thought long and hard about his last response. He said, and I paraphrase, it was amazing to see that a television network could provide food and shelter for its staff when our government failed so miserably. I thought that was a profound statement. I will let you think about that one.

Next, you have the War on Terrorism. It’s been over five years now and just to mention the world “terror” evokes fear as we reflect on the manner in which thousands lost their lives in a short span of time. The world stood with us. On that day, many of our enemies became our friend. No one desires to see terrorism strike, but it did. Now, republicans throw the word around like a nerf football in a park.

Just yesterday the president said that democrats are week on defense. Last week, in Alabama, the President said that the Democratic Party is the party of cut and run. Once again the terrorism card has been pulled- the “Hail Mary” of republican politics. When your domestic policies fail most Americans, when you are fighting a war that’s losing popularity with the America People, throw that pass. When you have failed to secure our borders, when you have, conceded Afghanistan to the Taliban and outsourced our efforts in that country to the NATO. Yes, this is true. Google it! Does Tora Bora ring a bell; Administration outsourced the job of capturing or killing Osama Bin Laden to warlords operating in Tora Bora, instead of sending our best trained Special Forces who are more than adequate to accomplish the mission.

Then we have Iraq. Yesterday, while talking to a co-worker about the Congressman Foley Scandal, we were talking about the challenges that lie ahead for the Republican Party. He asked me, “What is our mission in Iraq?” Now this guy is independent leaning republican. I responded by say that is the problem of the Administration. The targets for success move as the situation changes. For example, we’ve gone from weapons of mass destruction, to we believed he had a nuclear program, to we had to get rid of a brutal dictator. Then the story changed to, we need to establish a flourishing democracy. Now the call is we have to defeat the terrorist; if we don’t fight them over there, we will fight them here at home. Iraq is a failure and our troops our national treasure is now refereeing a civil war. In the past week 13 troops have been killed. What a tragedy. And this president has the audacity to say that the dems are weak on defense.

Anyone can start a fire, but the real question is can you put it out. Ask Mr. Bush to put the fire out in Iraq right now; there’s no plan. Have him put the fire out in Afghanistan where the Taliban is gaining strength and the commanders are calling for more troops. Have him put that fire out. America has a wild fire on her hands and unfortunately it’s not contained. Read the snippet of the intelligence estimate released by the White House. Dems have called for the release of the whole report. The wildfire is spreading. As Bob Woodward said in a recent 60 Minutes interview, the Administration stamps secret any information that paints a grim picture of the war in Iraq. Declassify the report so that the American People know how big the fire really is. One hundred Iraqis killed daily, an attack every four hours, and our service members still dying weekly. The fire is spreading.

Finally, we have the overly friendly email scandal. Mr. Foley’s actions were deplorable, but my question is to what degree did the republican leadership know about this, and why did they try to cover it up. Absolute power breeds corruption folks and the cover up, as I see it, was a blatant attempt to hold on to that power; to preserve the status quo in Washington. There needs to be a change in Washington. If you want change, that change can only occur with new leadership. I say this as a centrist democrat, who’s not afraid to vote republican if it’s good for the country.

On Thinkprogress: Over the weekend, Time magazine and the Washingtonian both reported on five photos of President Bush with Jack Abramoff, but neither publication revealed its source. Yesterday, ThinkProgress laid out the case for why the source for th…

And can Bush pardon Abramoff if he has already pleaded guilty? That doesn’t quite make sense to me.

Tribal leaders fear Abramoff scandal fallout
By Peter Hecht — Bee Capitol Bureau
Thursday, January 12, 2006

PALM SPRINGS – California tribal leaders, including the chairman of an Indian band that paid $10 million to disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates, said Wednesday that they were victimized by the corruption scandal and now fear they may lose political clout.

Abramoff, a powerful lobbyist who raked in millions of dollars to represent the interests of Indian gambling tribes, pleaded guilty on charges of conspiracy to commit bribery for doling out lavish vacations, golfing trips and other perks, including jobs for family members, to members of Congress.

The tribes have become major political players in Washington and in state capitals as Indian gambling has flourished and they have pushed for casino expansions. They now believe the money they paid Abramoff was diverted from their core interests.

On Wednesday, the specter of the Abramoff scandal dominated discussions on the opening day of the annual conference in Palm Springs of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, the state’s leading tribal gambling group.

And one tribal leader, Richard Milanovich, chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Riverside County, went so far as to apologize to the dozens of other tribes for having worked with the disgraced lobbyist.

“It really pains me, hurts me to know that this falls on all of us and is affecting all of Indian country,” said Milanovich, whose tribe directed $10 million through Milanovich for lobbying services. “We apologize to all of your people.”

In the opening address to the conference, Anthony Miranda, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association and a member of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, said he fears the scandal may close the doors of Congress to gambling and non-gambling tribes that want their issues heard.

“The same people who want to take away our rights are those who will use the disgraceful acts of … Abramoff to advance their cause,” Miranda said. “This man violated the trust of members of Congress, Indian tribes, banks, major corporations and charitable organizations.”

Miranda said Indian tribes should consider bypassing Washington’s legendary K Street lobbying establishment, saying: “Now, more than ever, it is vital, absolutely vital, that tribal leaders be the ones to walk the halls of Congress themselves.”

But that may not be easy.

“That guy (Abramoff) has done an awful lot of damage to Indian tribes,” said former two-term Colorado Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who now works for a prominent law firm representing gambling tribes. “What happened in D.C. is that a lot of people who were very helpful toward Indian tribes are now scared to death to deal with them.

“But one person – Abramoff – was the perpetrator, and the tribes were the victims.”

In an interview, Milanovich said the Agua Caliente Band, working with Abramoff, directed one-third of the $10 million to Abramoff’s law firm, Greenberg Traurig, and two-thirds to Abramoff’s business partner, Michael Scanlon. A public relations consultant, Scanlon also pleaded guilty in the political scandal.

Milanovich said much of the money was intended to help lobby Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and California lawmakers to renegotiate tribal gambling compacts for casinos the Agua Caliente Band operates in Palm Springs and near Rancho Mirage. But, without offering specifics, he said the money may have been diverted by Abramoff for political influence-peddling in Washington.

“I don’t think he used that money to our best interests,” said Milanovich, whose tribe has not been implicated for any wrongdoing in the Abramoff scandal.

In his plea agreement, Abramoff, who at times represented tribes with competing gambling interests, admitted that he lied to his clients and overcharged them by tens of millions of dollars. He could face up to 30 years in prison, but federal prosecutors have indicated they will reduce the sentence by as much as two-thirds in exchange for his cooperation in a continuing investigation of members of Congress.

Abramoff admitted in the plea agreement that he and Scanlon, who pleaded guilty before him, “engaged in a course of conduct … and provided a stream of things of value to public officials in exchange for a series of official acts and influence.”

Lawmakers who received gifts or large contributions from Abramoff and his associates and voted favorably for his clients, or whose spouses or former staffers went on to work for Abramoff, include former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas; Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio; Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville; Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont.; [who has big problems: the Montana/Wyoming Tribe he tried to donate his contribution to will not accept the cash], and Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. All have denied any wrongdoing.

Even if they committed no misdeeds, Campbell said Wednesday the scandal has cast a pall over Congress and that as many as 20 senators or representatives could face trouble in the 2006 elections.

“I know some of the Democrats say it is a Republican problem,” Campbell said. ” … It is a problem for both sides of the aisle.”

Many federal lawmakers who received contributions from Indian tribes represented by Abramoff are now returning the money or donating it to charity.

For example, on Monday, Shelley Berkley, a Democratic congresswoman from Nevada, said she was returning a $500 contribution she received in December 2003 from Milanovich on behalf of the Agua Caliente Band.

Milanovich said the tribe so far has been sent back some $11,000 in political contributions, which the tribe will donate to children’s charities. But he said he was offended by the implications of the money being returned.

“We are receiving refunds on contributions made directly by us, implying that somehow we were involved in the subterfuge (by Abramoff),” Milanovich said. “I resent that. All of us resent that.”

Miranda of the Pechanga tribe said he was disappointed that Milanovich felt compelled to apologize to the conference for having dealt with Abramoff.

“The tribe did nothing wrong. I don’t want to see Chairman Milanovich apologize,” Miranda said. “The tribe paid a lobbyist to do a job. How he did that job they had no control over.”

Despite Miranda’s call for Indian tribes to shun lobbyists and represent themselves in the halls of Congress, the CQ Weekly reported that many of Abramoff’s former clients – including the Mississippi Band of Choctaws, the Hope and the Mashpee Wampanoag tribes – are lining up to sign on with new lobbying firms on Capitol Hill.

“We have to maintain lobbyists,” said Milanovich, who said Wednesday his tribe is going through a “cleansing process” of reflection in the wake of the scandal. “We need a presence in Washington. We’re no different than a steel company or a pharmaceutical company that has lobbyists in Washington. But we will just be much more diligent on who we are retaining to represent us.”

About the writer:
The Bee’s Peter Hecht can be reached at (916) 326-5539 or phecht@sacbee.com.

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posted by HighViz PR at 8:18 AM | 0 comments

Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Damage Control for Tribal Members – who is repping the rez?

Thoughts on: “Indian Tribes ‘hurt’ by Abramoff scandal – MSNBC’ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10824532/ and the “Damage Control” behind it

I posted the link above a couple of weeks ago about the victims of the Abramoff scandal. Nancy Conrad, who was the Marketing Director of the Cabazon Mission Indians in Cabazon, California is now spokesperson for Richard Milanovich of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (my client while under GT Laws/Team Abramoff’s charge),spoke for Richard to MSNBC. She is now doing a great job in meeting the press for Richard re: aftermath, and moving forward. Richard & Company were quick to pick up another high-powered lobbying firm (Akin Gump)* early on, in 2004, as were many others (the Hopi even hired back Kevin Ring after he left GT Law, I believe, who is at Barnes & Thornburg, LLP).

http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/011992.asp
Indian leader offers apologies (AP 1/12)

Agua Caliente’s Chief Richard Milanovich did the right thing by going right to his public and saying I am responsible, too, although I am also a victim of good works that mainly went unrealized for several reasons. My question remains what about all of the other tribes, tribal officers and tribal management that are left in the dust? EXPLANATION: They hired law firms in Washington for the betterment of their tribes, or did they? And if they did (and I worked for several since 2000, and can vouch for them for some, having worked in the Old Exceutive Office Building and several agencies for GT LAW) who is fairly representing them, strategizing their “damage control” (not for the dollar) and watching their interests now?

Abbe Buck, Spokesperson/Representative

(((PS – Michael Scanlon made things pretty bad for me to do MY JOB, too – you should see my W-4’s for 2004!)))

*(from The Hill, in 2004: INDIAN TRIBES. As federal prosecutors and a congressional panel scrutinize its former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the Agua Caliente tribe has hired Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to help guide the tribe through the investigation and continue its lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill. Leading Akin Gump’s team is Partner Steven R.Ross, who was seen accompanying one of the tribe’s leaders at a Senate hearing last week. Ross was general counsel to the House of Representatives under Speakers Tip O’Neill (D-Mass.) and Jim Wright (D-Texas).

posted by HighViz PR at 6:36 AM | 1 comments