AREA REP VOWS FRIENDSHIP ROHRABACHER WON'T ABANDON ABRAMOFF.Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush calls disgraced Capitol Hill superlobbyist Jack Abramoff Jack Abramoff (born February 28, 1959) is a former American political lobbyist, a Republican political activist and businessman who was a central figure in a series of high-profile political scandals. ``outrageous.'' Montana Sen. Conrad Burns Conrad Ray Burns (born January 25, 1935) is a former United States Senator from Montana. He was only the second Republican to represent Montana in the Senate since the passage in 1913 of the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution and is the longest-serving Republican senator in calls him ``a bad guy.'' Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. Rep. Elton Gallegly Elton W. Gallegly (born March 7 1944), an American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1987, currently representing the 24th District of California (map). calls him a ``scoundrel SCOUNDREL. An opprobrious title given to a person of bad character. General damages will not lie for calling a man a scoundrel, but special damages may be recovered when there has been an actual loss. 2 Bouv: Inst. n. 2250; 1 Chit. Pr. 44. .'' Orange County Rep. Dana Rohrabacher Dana Tyron Rohrabacher (born June 21, 1947, in Coronado, California) is an American politician, who has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1989, currently representing California's At-large congressional district. calls him ``friend.'' As politicians scramble to distance themselves from Abramoff - who pleaded guilty last week to charges of conspiracy, tax evasion The process whereby a person, through commission of Fraud, unlawfully pays less tax than the law mandates. Tax evasion is a criminal offense under federal and state statutes. A person who is convicted is subject to a prison sentence, a fine, or both. and wire fraud in a sweeping influence-peddling case - Rohrabacher, a Republican, remains unwaveringly loyal to his pal of 25 years. But that loyalty is raising eyebrows among his political detractors, who question Rohrabacher's relationship with Abramoff and plan to make it a campaign issue. ``A lot of us are scratching our heads as to why Rohrabacher has become the chief defender of Abramoff,'' said Frank Barbarao, chairman of the Orange County Democratic Party. Still, it remains unclear whether any guilt-by-association concerns will stick in Rohrabacher's heavily Republican 46th District, which spans Huntington Beach Huntington Beach, city (1990 pop. 181,519), Orange co., S Calif., on the Pacific coast, across from Santa Catalina Island, in an oil-producing area; inc. 1909. It manufactures aerospace vehicles, aircraft parts, optical instruments, and heat transfer equipment. and Long Beach. Constituents re-elected Rohrabacher in 2004 with 62 percent of the vote. And political analysts said they doubt voters will abandon Rohrabacher if fidelity to Abramoff is his only taint taint an unpleasant odor and flavor in a human foodstuff of animal origin. Caused by the ingestion of the substance, commonly a plant such as Hexham scent, or while in storage, e.g. milk stored with pineapples, or as a result of animal metabolism, e.g. boar taint. in the federal investigation into public corruption in Washington, D.C. Some predicted voters may even like it. ``It says that at least the guy has a sense of loyalty. He isn't being disingenuous, and people appreciate that,'' said University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission political scientist Sherry Bebitch Jeffe. Abramoff had friends aplenty a·plen·ty adj. In plentiful supply; abundant: "There were warning signs aplenty for their candidates as well" Michael Gelb. when he was a high-flying power broker, wining and dining politicians at his downtown D.C. restaurant Signatures, where the slow-roasted rack of lamb Noun 1. rack of lamb - a roast of the rib section of lamb crown roast rack - rib section of a forequarter of veal or pork or especially lamb or mutton lamb roast, roast lamb - a cut of lamb suitable for roasting simmered in Japanese eggplant went for $32 and the goat cheese beignets for $11. He paid for golf outings and arranged overseas trips for Congress members and their wives, while stuffing their campaign coffers with hefty donations. But when a Senate committee in 2004 began investigating the excessive fees Abramoff charged American Indian tribes by trading off his GOP ties, friendships dissolved. Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay - who once referred to Abramoff as one of his ``closest and dearest friends'' - told reporters: ``If anyone is trading on my name to get clients or make money, that is wrong.'' Montana's Burns, who accepted $150,000 from Abramoff and his clients, fumed fume n. 1. Vapor, gas, or smoke, especially if irritating, harmful, or strong. 2. A strong or acrid odor. 3. A state of resentment or vexation. v. to a home-state television station that he wished the lobbyist ``had never been born.'' Only Rohrabacher consistently maintained Abramoff's innocence. He told one newspaper that Abramoff was a ``fine man,'' another that the lobbyist was getting a ``raw deal'' from a vicious press. Now that Abramoff has pleaded guilty and faces a lengthy prison term and payment of $25 million in restitution to former clients, Rohrabacher allows that Abramoff made ``mistakes.'' Still, he said, it has no bearing on their relationship. ``He's made some serious mistakes and some bad decisions. Now he's going to have to pay the price. That doesn't make him not my friend,'' Rohrabacher said. The two met in the 1980s when Rohrabacher was working for President Reagan as a speechwriter speech·writ·er n. One who writes speeches for others, especially as a profession. speech  writ and Abramoff was president of the College
Republicans.
``He was very active for us in the Reagan White House, and I was very involved in supporting those efforts,'' Rohrabacher said. ``He was also very active in helping those groups that were involved with fighting the communist troops.'' Over the years, the two became close. Rohrabacher accepted $7,500 in campaign contributions from Abramoff dating back to 1996, according to federal campaign records. In 2000, the congressman provided a personal reference for Abramoff when the lobbyist was seeking financing to purchase the SunCruz Casino line. In December, Rohrabacher said he called Abramoff at home to offer moral support. He said they did not discuss the case or the likelihood of Abramoff offering a plea agreement, which by then was being widely discussed in the media. ``I called him during the holiday season to try to bolster his spirits a bit, and they needed bolstering,'' Rohrabacher said. Veteran political analyst Norman Ornstein praised Rohrabacher for refusing to distance himself from Abramoff even as the evidence against him mounted. ``With Dana Rohrabacher, what you see is what you get (jargon) What You See Is What You Get - (WYSIWYG) /wiz'ee-wig/ Describes a user interface for a document preparation system under which changes are represented by displaying a more-or-less accurate image of the way the document will finally appear, e.g. when printed. . This is not somebody who is going to say, `I'm shocked, shocked,' as so many members have - none of which passes any smell test. ``Frankly,'' Ornstein added, ``Dana was bilked in the sense that he genuinely believed that Jack Abramoff was a good guy.'' Claremont-McKenna College political scientist Jack Pitney likened the situation to President Harry Truman of Missouri attending the funeral of Kansas City mob boss Tom Pendergast despite the howling of critics, out of a ``sense of personal loyalty.'' Rohrabacher declined to comment on the analogy but, he said, the newfound distance of Abramoff's former friends has not escaped his notice. ``It's human for people,'' he said. ``And maybe it's a sad commentary on the human condition that people desert their friends when they're in trouble, especially if the trouble is caused by bad decisions. ``I'm saddened by this whole thing, that a friend of mine has made very serious mistakes and bad decisions that now caused his life to be totally turned upside down.'' Rohrabacher said he is returning Abramoff's political donations but will ``continue to be a friend with a friend who is in trouble.'' Lisa Friedman, (202) 662-8731 lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion