Ralph Reed Ha Ha Ha*Updated*
Sure we could see this coming for months, but it still feels great, doesn't it? I've been wallowing in Ralph Reed's defeat all day, and I thoroughly recommend it. Start here and then dig in there. And thanks to C-Span, watch the little creep's concession speech here.
This is just the first political casualty of the every growing Abramoff story. Imagine what will happen when indictments hit elected officials and
(Roddy Doyle link I couldn't put in the Title here)
Oh there's nothing like the Jack Abramoff scandal to keep us Democrats happy...as Bob Woodward said about Nixon, it's the gift that keeps on giving. The latest chapter incriminates Ralph Reed, former President of the Christian Coalition and former political consultant who fancied a political career of his own. I predict his race for Lt. Governor of Georgia in 2006, and presumably President in 2016, will soon collapse under the weight of all this scandal. How long can Ralph hang on? Place your bets.
In the meantime, let's all revel in "Gimme Five," the riveting new report from John McCain's Indian Affairs Committee hearings detailing how more than $5 million in Indian payments to Ralph Reed were filtered through Abramoff-controlled corporations. The Washington Post beat the Times in getting this quote:
The report cited interviews with Mississippi Choctaw and Louisiana Coushatta tribal representatives. Reed "did not want to be paid directly by a tribe with gaming interests," said Choctaw official Nell Rogers. "It was our understanding that the structure was recommended by Jack Abramoff to accommodate Mr. Reed's political concerns.
It's clear from reading the emails in the Abramoff/Savafian/Reed imbroglio that like so much in politics, at the heart of these scandals are big boys playing with big toys, in this case power and money. Sometimes they even reveal their inner idiot to the press:
"I want to be invisible. I do guerrilla warfare. I paint my face and travel at night. You don't know it's over until you're in a body bag." --Ralph Reed, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, November 9, 2024
"It's like guerrilla warfare. If you reveal your location, all it does is allow your opponent to improve his artillery bearings. It's better to move quietly, with stealth, under cover of night. You've got two choices: You can wear cammies and shimmy along on your belly, or you can put on a red coat and stand up for everyone to see. It comes down to whether you want to be the British army in the Revolutionary War or the Viet Cong. History tells us which tactic was more effective."--Ralph Reed Los Angeles Times, 3/22/92
I'm going to enjoy watching the evil boy genius implode.
Note to Reader(s): You know who you are, Art. And you too Karen.
Has it really been more than a month since I last posted here? I plead...alien abduction, yeah, that's the ticket. Come support one of the reasons I've been busier than usual lately, and check this space again over the weekend.