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Sunday, after watching Howie Dean say that any democrat with ties to Jack Abranoff was in ''big trouble,'' I noted that it appeard he was stabbing Harry Reid in his black heart. It looks like that's the case [see "HOWIE AND HARRY"]
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''According to
knowledgeable DNC sources, Dean about ten days ago was shown opposition
research documents generated by the Republican National Committee more
than three years ago, which laid out facts regarding Reid and his
family's lobbying and ethical conflicts.
''Dean, according to the
sources, was fascinated by the details, and asked that his staff
research and independently confirm everything on the documents.
"Basically he oppo'd a member of his own party," says a DNC source
loyal to Dean.
''"Basically, we were looking at three- or four-page documents that made Jack Abramoff's
lobbying work look like that of a rank amateur," says the DNC source.
"Between the minority leader's past in Nevada and here in Washington,
and the activities of his sons and son-in-law, there probably isn't
anyone in this town with more conflicts. The Reid family is the symbol
of what's wrong with Washington; it's their behavior that enabled the
culture that spawned people like Abramoff."
<snip>
''According to Democrat
Party watchers and DNC staff, Dean has grown increasingly frustrated at
how he is treated by the likes of Reid, Sen. Dick Durbin, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who leads the House Democrat candidate recruitment effort. "They treat him like a lackey, not as an equal,"
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 Frankly,
I fail to see what all the fuss over Abramoff is about? Don't get
me wrong, I'm not in favor of politicians selling their vote, but
it's not like this is a new thing. In 1990 a democrat staffer named John L. Jackley wrote Hill Rat, a book that exposed the cavalier attitude most law makers have about ethics. Using terms like "The Favor Factory,"
and "The House of Lord s," Jackley revealed how whenever members of
John Dingell's Energy Committee needed campaign cash, Dingell would
simply hold hearings on legislation -- any legislation, it didn't
matter -- which resulted in lobbyist money pouring in -- from
both the pro and con camps! And, did we just live through the
Clinton Administration, for god's sake? Anything, and everything
was for sale, from White House furniture to Top Secret encryption
codes. Name one official who lost a job during that era of
anything goes? What a bunch of crap all this is.
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