We said earlier on, back in the pre-Iowa stage, that we'd love if Obama could win this without Florida.
Obviously we're in a bit of a different situation now, where we'll just take any combo that gets us to 270, but... a question arises in my mind.
If you are an Obama supporter, and you knew, right now, that Obama would for sure win the election, would you rather Florida be a red state or blue state in the process?
Zimmydoom, Zimmydoom
Flew away in a balloon
Had sex with polar bears
While sitting in a reclining chair
Now there are Zim-Bear hybrids
Running around and clawing eyelids
Watch out, a Zim-Bear is about to have sex with yooooooou!
We said earlier on, back in the pre-Iowa stage, that we'd love if Obama could win this without Florida.
Obviously we're in a bit of a different situation now, where we'll just take any combo that gets us to 270, but... a question arises in my mind.
If you are an Obama supporter, and you knew, right now, that Obama would for sure win the election, would you rather Florida be a red state or blue state in the process?
We said earlier on, back in the pre-Iowa stage, that we'd love if Obama could win this without Florida.
Obviously we're in a bit of a different situation now, where we'll just take any combo that gets us to 270, but... a question arises in my mind.
If you are an Obama supporter, and you knew, right now, that Obama would for sure win the election, would you rather Florida be a red state or blue state in the process?
We said earlier on, back in the pre-Iowa stage, that we'd love if Obama could win this without Florida.
Obviously we're in a bit of a different situation now, where we'll just take any combo that gets us to 270, but... a question arises in my mind.
If you are an Obama supporter, and you knew, right now, that Obama would for sure win the election, would you rather Florida be a red state or blue state in the process?
Red. Let's not waste a ton of money there next time, please.
We said earlier on, back in the pre-Iowa stage, that we'd love if Obama could win this without Florida.
Obviously we're in a bit of a different situation now, where we'll just take any combo that gets us to 270, but... a question arises in my mind.
If you are an Obama supporter, and you knew, right now, that Obama would for sure win the election, would you rather Florida be a red state or blue state in the process?
Blue, as in under water (my grandfather has a boat, so my family's covered)
We said earlier on, back in the pre-Iowa stage, that we'd love if Obama could win this without Florida.
Obviously we're in a bit of a different situation now, where we'll just take any combo that gets us to 270, but... a question arises in my mind.
If you are an Obama supporter, and you knew, right now, that Obama would for sure win the election, would you rather Florida be a red state or blue state in the process?
Zimmydoom, Zimmydoom
Flew away in a balloon
Had sex with polar bears
While sitting in a reclining chair
Now there are Zim-Bear hybrids
Running around and clawing eyelids
Watch out, a Zim-Bear is about to have sex with yooooooou!
But interviews and records show that lobbyists and political operatives in Mr. McCain’s inner circle played a behind-the-scenes role in bringing Mr. Abramoff’s misdeeds to Mr. McCain’s attention — and then cashed in on the resulting investigation. The senator’s longtime chief political strategist, for example, was paid $100,000 over four months as a consultant to one tribe caught up in the inquiry, records show.
In May 2007, as Mr. McCain’s presidential bid was floundering, he spent a weekend at the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas strip. A fund-raiser hosted by J. Terrence Lanni, the casino’s top executive and a longtime friend of the senator, raised $400,000 for his campaign. Afterward, Mr. McCain attended a boxing match and hit the craps tables.
For much of his adult life, Mr. McCain has gambled as often as once a month, friends and associates said, traveling to Las Vegas for weekend betting marathons. Former senior campaign officials said they worried about Mr. McCain’s patronage of casinos, given the power he wields over the industry. The officials, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on condition of anonymity.
“We were always concerned about appearances,†one former official said. “If you go around saying that appearances matter, then they matter.â€
The former official said he would tell Mr. McCain: “Do we really have to go to a casino? I don’t think it’s a good idea. The base doesn’t like it. It doesn’t look good. And good things don’t happen in casinos at midnight.â€
“You worry too much,†Mr. McCain would respond, the official said.
The senator declared he would not investigate members of Congress, whom Mr. Abramoff had lavished with tribal donations and golf outings to Scotland. But in the course of the investigation, the committee exposed Mr. Abramoff’s dealings with the two men who had helped defeat Mr. McCain in the 2000 primary.
The investigation showed that Mr. Norquist’s foundation was used by Mr. Abramoff to launder lobbying fees from tribes. Ralph Reed was found to have accepted $4 million to run bogus antigambling campaigns. And the investigation also highlighted Mr. Abramoff’s efforts to curry favor with the House majority leader at the time, Tom DeLay, Republican of Texas, a longtime political foe who had opposed many of Mr. McCain’s legislative priorities.
Mr. McCain’s campaign said the senator did not “single out†Ralph Reed or Mr. Norquist, neither of whom were ever charged, and that both men fell within the “scope of the investigation.†The inquiry, which led to guilty pleas by over a dozen individuals, was motivated by a desire to help aggrieved tribes, the campaign said.
Inside the investigation, the sense of schadenfreude was palpable, according to several people close to the senator. “It was like hitting pay dirt,†said one associate of Mr. McCain’s who had consulted with the senator’s office on the investigation. “And face it — McCain and Weaver were maniacal about Ralph Reed and Norquist. They were sticking little pins in dolls because those guys had cost him South Carolina.â€
Down on the Coushattas reservation, bills related to the investigation kept coming. After firing Mr. Abramoff, the tribe hired Kent Hance, a lawyer and former Texas congressman who said he had been friends with Mr. McCain since the 1980s.
David Sickey, the tribe’s vice chairman, said he was “dumbfounded†over the bills submitted by Mr. Hance’s firm, Hance Scarborough, which had been hired by Mr. Sickey’s predecessors.
“The very thing we were fighting seemed to be happening all over again — these absurd amounts of money being paid,†Mr. Sickey said.
Mr. Hance’s firm billed the tribe nearly $1.3 million over 11 months in legal and political consulting fees, records show. But Mr. Sickey said that the billing statements offered only vague explanations for services and that he could not point to any tangible results. Two consultants, for instance, were paid to fight the expansion of gambling in Texas — even though it was unlikely given that the governor there opposed any such prospect, Mr. Sickey said.
Mr. Hance and Jay B. Stewart, the firm’s managing partner, defended their team’s work, saying they successfully steered the tribe through a difficult period. “We did an outstanding job for them,†Mr. Hance said. “When we told them our bill was going to be $100,000 a month, they thought we were cheap. Mr. Abramoff had charged them $1 million a month.â€
The firm’s fees covered the services of Mr. Fletcher, who served as the tribe’s spokesman. Records also show that Mr. Hance had Mr. Weaver — who was serving as Mr. McCain’s chief strategist — put on the tribe’s payroll from February to May 2005.
It is not precisely clear what role Mr. Weaver played for his $100,000 fee.
Mr. Stewart said Mr. Weaver was hired because “he had a lot of experience with the Senate, especially the new chairman, John McCain.†The Hance firm told the tribe in a letter that Mr. Weaver was hired to provide “representation for the tribe before the U.S. Senate.â€
But Mr. Weaver never registered to lobby on the issue, and he has another explanation for his work.
Barbour Griffith & Rogers wanted Mr. McCain to hold a hearing that would show that the Bureau of Indian Affairs was “broken,†said Bradley A. Blakeman, who was a lobbyist for the firm at the time.
“It was our hope that the hearing would shed light on the fact that the bureau had not followed their rules and had improperly granted recognition to the Schaghticoke,†Mr. Blakeman said. “And that the bureau would revisit the issue and follow their rules.â€
Mr. McCain’s staff helped that effort by offering strategic advice.
His staff told a lobbyist for the firm that the Indian Affairs Committee “would love to receive a letter†from the Connecticut governor requesting a hearing, according to an e-mail exchange, and offered “guidance on what the most effective tone and approach†would be in the letter.
On May 11, 2005, Mr. McCain held a hearing billed as a general “oversight hearing on federal recognition of Indian tribes.†But nearly all the witnesses were Schaghticoke opponents who portrayed the tribe as imposters.
Mr. McCain set the tone: “The role that gaming and its nontribal backers have played in the recognition process has increased perceptions that it is unfair, if not corrupt.â€
Chief Richard F. Velky of the Schaghticokes found himself facing off against the governor and most of the state’s congressional delegation. “The deck was stacked against us,†Mr. Velky said. “They were given lots of time. I was given five minutes.â€
He had always believed Mr. McCain “to be an honest and fair man,†Mr. Velky said, “but this didn’t make me feel that good.â€
Mr. Velky said he felt worse when the e-mail messages between the tribe’s opponents and Mr. McCain’s staff surfaced in a federal lawsuit. “Is there a letter telling me how to address the senator to give me the best shot?†Mr. Velky asked. “No, there is not.â€
After the hearing, Pablo E. Carrillo, who was Mr. McCain’s chief Abramoff investigator at the time, wrote to a Barbour Griffith & Rogers lobbyist, Brant Imperatore. “Your client’s side definitely got a good hearing record,†Mr. Carillo wrote, adding “you probably have a good sense†on where Mr. McCain “is headed on this.â€
I know we talked about the gambling thing a while back. As I recall the determination was that it doesn't matter if someone worth $100 million+ wants to blow 10 grand on craps.
I know we talked about the gambling thing a while back. As I recall the determination was that it doesn't matter if someone worth $100 million+ wants to blow 10 grand on craps.
Most of the article isn't about his gambling habits.
I know we talked about the gambling thing a while back. As I recall the determination was that it doesn't matter if someone worth $100 million+ wants to blow 10 grand on craps.
Most of the article isn't about his gambling habits.
Well I could have said 'and as for the rest, his cronies seem corrupt as fuck' but I assumed you knew that already. :P
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GoslingLooking Up Soccer In Mongolia Right Now, ProbablyWatertown, WIRegistered Userregular
edited September 2008
Poehler and Fey have such good chemistry together.
Gosling on
I have a new soccer blog The Minnow Tank. Reading it psychically kicks Sepp Blatter in the bean bag.
While the Arizona senator has repeatedly insisted the dire financial crisis was a time for leadership and not politics, Friday's debate — and its potential impact on the presidential campaign going forward — was clearly on his mind.
"I was a little disappointed the media called it a tie. But I think that means when they call it a tie that means we win," McCain told Mississippi Rep. Chip Pickering after speaking to him about the bailout deal pending in Congress, one of a handful of calls McCain was heard making when campaign aides briefly allowed reporters in to see him.
Pfff.
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GoslingLooking Up Soccer In Mongolia Right Now, ProbablyWatertown, WIRegistered Userregular
edited September 2008
This will.... not be one of the classic debate skits.
Also, may we please shoot Fred Armisen? How did this guy get on SNL?
Gosling on
I have a new soccer blog The Minnow Tank. Reading it psychically kicks Sepp Blatter in the bean bag.
While the Arizona senator has repeatedly insisted the dire financial crisis was a time for leadership and not politics, Friday's debate — and its potential impact on the presidential campaign going forward — was clearly on his mind.
"I was a little disappointed the media called it a tie. But I think that means when they call it a tie that means we win," McCain told Mississippi Rep. Chip Pickering after speaking to him about the bailout deal pending in Congress, one of a handful of calls McCain was heard making when campaign aides briefly allowed reporters in to see him.
Pfff.
"The media called it a tie, and independent voters called it overwhelmingly for Obama. Obama just doesn't understand that I won. Even Obama agrees with me!"
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HachfaceNot the Minister Farrakhan you're thinking ofDammit, Shepard!Registered Userregular
edited September 2008
Well honestly what did we expect him to say? "Yeah I totally sucked. Shucks. Gotta do better next time."
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Irond WillWARNING: NO HURTFUL COMMENTS, PLEASE!!!!!Cambridge. MAModeratormod
We've got the Alaskan pipeline in Illinois, so we could probably help out the AC directly. Which would come in handy, quid pro quo, if the South ever heads north.
We'll just get the Confederate States and the Greater Texas Republic to fight eachother. No muss, no fuss.
Truly, at the end of the day, the United Coasts of America will reign triumphant.
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – In his first public address since last night’s presidential debate, John McCain accused Barack Obama using the current financial crisis for political gain.
“It was clear that Sen. Obama still sees the financial crisis in America as a national problem to be exploited first and solved later,†McCain said. “I am determined to help achieve a legislative package to help avoid the worst, and to set our economy back on the path of stability, confidence, and growth.â€
Although he was scheduled to appear live at the 12th annual “Save Our Heritage Rally†in Columbus, Ohio, McCain spoke via satellite from Washington, D.C., because he said was working on the bailout legislation. Sponsored by the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, a hunting and fishing organization, McCain also invoked Obama’s now infamous comments from last April when he said small-town Pennsylvania voters “cling to guns or religion.â€
“You can also tell a lot about a man by how he speaks when you're not around,†McCain said. “Earlier this year, Sen. Obama gave us all a little insight into his opinions of gun owners when he was among friends in San Francisco. He was in a room full of rich liberals, right at home. And he reported on some of his findings from his encounters with ordinary Americans. He said that in places like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and elsewhere, people are ‘bitter.’ And that is why, in his clinical opinion, you folks ‘cling’ to your guns and religion.â€
The Obama campaign attempted to change the subject to an infamous McCain comment. “John McCain should be careful throwing rocks in his eight glass houses,†said Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor.
We've got the Alaskan pipeline in Illinois, so we could probably help out the AC directly. Which would come in handy, quid pro quo, if the South ever heads north.
We'll just get the Confederate States and the Greater Texas Republic to fight eachother. No muss, no fuss.
Truly, at the end of the day, the United Coasts of America will reign triumphant.
Well honestly what did we expect him to say? "Yeah I totally sucked. Shucks. Gotta do better next time."
If you're trying to say you won, it probably wouldn't be smart to say that everyone called it a tie. Well, smart in a general sense, because obviously his base will eat up the "liberal media bias" thing.
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – In his first public address since last night’s presidential debate, John McCain accused Barack Obama using the current financial crisis for political gain.
“It was clear that Sen. Obama still sees the financial crisis in America as a national problem to be exploited first and solved later,†McCain said. “I am determined to help achieve a legislative package to help avoid the worst, and to set our economy back on the path of stability, confidence, and growth.â€
Although he was scheduled to appear live at the 12th annual “Save Our Heritage Rally†in Columbus, Ohio, McCain spoke via satellite from Washington, D.C., because he said was working on the bailout legislation. Sponsored by the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, a hunting and fishing organization, McCain also invoked Obama’s now infamous comments from last April when he said small-town Pennsylvania voters “cling to guns or religion.â€
“You can also tell a lot about a man by how he speaks when you're not around,†McCain said. “Earlier this year, Sen. Obama gave us all a little insight into his opinions of gun owners when he was among friends in San Francisco. He was in a room full of rich liberals, right at home. And he reported on some of his findings from his encounters with ordinary Americans. He said that in places like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and elsewhere, people are ‘bitter.’ And that is why, in his clinical opinion, you folks ‘cling’ to your guns and religion.â€
The Obama campaign attempted to change the subject to an infamous McCain comment. “John McCain should be careful throwing rocks in his eight glass houses,†said Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor.
The guy has no shame.
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RentI'm always rightFuckin' deal with itRegistered Userregular
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – In his first public address since last night’s presidential debate, John McCain accused Barack Obama using the current financial crisis for political gain.
“It was clear that Sen. Obama still sees the financial crisis in America as a national problem to be exploited first and solved later,†McCain said. “I am determined to help achieve a legislative package to help avoid the worst, and to set our economy back on the path of stability, confidence, and growth.â€
Although he was scheduled to appear live at the 12th annual “Save Our Heritage Rally†in Columbus, Ohio, McCain spoke via satellite from Washington, D.C., because he said was working on the bailout legislation. Sponsored by the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, a hunting and fishing organization, McCain also invoked Obama’s now infamous comments from last April when he said small-town Pennsylvania voters “cling to guns or religion.â€
“You can also tell a lot about a man by how he speaks when you're not around,†McCain said. “Earlier this year, Sen. Obama gave us all a little insight into his opinions of gun owners when he was among friends in San Francisco. He was in a room full of rich liberals, right at home. And he reported on some of his findings from his encounters with ordinary Americans. He said that in places like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and elsewhere, people are ‘bitter.’ And that is why, in his clinical opinion, you folks ‘cling’ to your guns and religion.â€
The Obama campaign attempted to change the subject to an infamous McCain comment. “John McCain should be careful throwing rocks in his eight glass houses,†said Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor.
I....what? I mean, WHAT? Does he even remember what he did 3 days ago?
Also, Obama campain needs to get rid of eight houses line kthnxbai.
The two sides spent more than $10 million -- unprecedented for such efforts in Alaska -- and throughout it all, the state's highly popular first-term governor, Sarah Palin, held back. Alaska law forbids state officials from using state resources to advocate on ballot initiatives.
Then, six days before the Aug. 26 vote, with the race looking close, Palin broke her silence. Asked about the initiative at a news conference, she invoked "personal privilege" to give an opinion. "Let me take my governor's hat off for just a minute here and tell you, personally, Prop. 4 -- I vote no on that," she said. "I have all the confidence in the world that [the Department of Environmental Conservation] and our [Department of Natural Resources] have great, very stringent regulations and policies already in place. We're going to make sure that mines operate only safely, soundly."
Palin's comments rocked the contest. Within a day, the pro-mining coalition fighting the referendum had placed full-page ads with a picture of the governor and the word "NO." The initiative went down to defeat, with 57 percent of voters rejecting it.
Three days later, Palin was named Republican Sen. John McCain's running mate, throwing Alaska into a media frenzy. But the fallout has lingered from an episode that may stand as one of the most consequential in Palin's 21-month tenure. The state ethics panel is examining whether her comments violated the law against state advocacy on ballot measures; it had already ruled that a state Web site was improperly slanted toward mining interests.
Opponents of the referendum say Palin's intervention showed her willingness to speak up for what she saw as the state's best interests, even if it upset many Alaskans. "It was very positive," said John Shively, chief executive of Pebble Partnership, a consortium of Vancouver-based Northern Dynasty and multinational mining giant Anglo American that is planning the mine. "She's very popular as governor, and so it certainly never hurts to have a popular governor on your side."
But the mine would sit on Bristol Bay, a fishing paradise where 31 million sockeye salmon worth $108 million were caught last year. Opponents consider it too risky to construct an open-pit mine, as well as the world's largest dam to hold mining waste, so close to the valuable fishing grounds. The defeated initiative would have addressed their concern, barring any new large metals mine from releasing chemicals that would damage salmon, a standard not included in current law.
Fishing employs more people than any other Alaska industry -- 12,000 mostly seasonal jobs in Bristol Bay alone, compared with 5,500 mining jobs statewide. But the mining industry has more lobbying clout. In the referendum fight, the pro-mining coalition easily outspent its opposition.
Mining interests have courted Palin since her inauguration. Northern Dynasty contributed to her inaugural fund, and other mining companies have offered gifts and paid travel expenses for Palin's husband to go on fact-finding trips.
Environmentalists saw a bad omen when Palin's administration urged legislators not to toughen a regulation that the previous governor, Frank Murkowski (R), had loosened to allow some levels of toxicity in streams when salmon are not present. Political strategist Danny Consenstein, a leader of the pro-initiative team, said he suspected that Palin eventually came out against the initiative to maintain her Republican standing in a state where the party has long supported the use of natural resources.
"This is kind of a litmus test," he said. "If you're against the mining industry, you're anti-Alaskan. She's a Republican governor, and she's got to show she's pro-development."
A week before the vote, Palin spoke with initiative opponent Mead Treadwell, the chairman of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. He sensed that the governor was seeing things his way. "Palin said, 'I can't take a position, but if anyone asks me what I think, I'd say that I don't like it,' " Treadwell recalled. "And about an hour later, someone asked her."
She stated her opposition without warning Rick Halford, a conservative Republican and former state senator. A main initiative supporter, he had worked hard for Palin's election. The two had talked during the summer about Pebble, and "she was cautious and trying to figure it out at that point," he said.
Art Hackney, a political consultant and director of Alaskans for Clean Water, speculated that Palin may have been irked by complaints about the biased language on the state Web site. "It was her way of waving her wand, as she is wont to do," he said, ". . . and poof, undercut this effort with one fell swoop."
on the disscussion of whether or not florida should be red or blue
blue
I've used my time to canvass and volunteer for the campaign. I understand that my state is goddamn retarded, but sometimes you guys rag on us a little too much and it gets on my nerves
We've got the Alaskan pipeline in Illinois, so we could probably help out the AC directly. Which would come in handy, quid pro quo, if the South ever heads north.
We'll just get the Confederate States and the Greater Texas Republic to fight eachother. No muss, no fuss.
Truly, at the end of the day, the United Coasts of America will reign triumphant.
Colorado natives get ready for Obama to come back yet again. He will be here on Monday but the exact time and location have not been determined yet. Michelle Obama will be visiting Boulder Colorado Wednesday and that time and location(somewhere at CU) is still being worked out as well. I'm wondering if their internal polling is showing the same thing as 538 since they are showing us so much attention.
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No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
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Just_Bri_ThanksSeething with ragefrom a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPAregular
edited September 2008
Blue, because I am here.
And... I don't want to be alone!
Just_Bri_Thanks on
...and when you are done with that; take a folding
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
But interviews and records show that lobbyists and political operatives in Mr. McCain’s inner circle played a behind-the-scenes role in bringing Mr. Abramoff’s misdeeds to Mr. McCain’s attention — and then cashed in on the resulting investigation. The senator’s longtime chief political strategist, for example, was paid $100,000 over four months as a consultant to one tribe caught up in the inquiry, records show.
In May 2007, as Mr. McCain’s presidential bid was floundering, he spent a weekend at the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas strip. A fund-raiser hosted by J. Terrence Lanni, the casino’s top executive and a longtime friend of the senator, raised $400,000 for his campaign. Afterward, Mr. McCain attended a boxing match and hit the craps tables.
For much of his adult life, Mr. McCain has gambled as often as once a month, friends and associates said, traveling to Las Vegas for weekend betting marathons. Former senior campaign officials said they worried about Mr. McCain’s patronage of casinos, given the power he wields over the industry. The officials, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on condition of anonymity.
“We were always concerned about appearances,†one former official said. “If you go around saying that appearances matter, then they matter.â€
The former official said he would tell Mr. McCain: “Do we really have to go to a casino? I don’t think it’s a good idea. The base doesn’t like it. It doesn’t look good. And good things don’t happen in casinos at midnight.â€
“You worry too much,†Mr. McCain would respond, the official said.
The senator declared he would not investigate members of Congress, whom Mr. Abramoff had lavished with tribal donations and golf outings to Scotland. But in the course of the investigation, the committee exposed Mr. Abramoff’s dealings with the two men who had helped defeat Mr. McCain in the 2000 primary.
The investigation showed that Mr. Norquist’s foundation was used by Mr. Abramoff to launder lobbying fees from tribes. Ralph Reed was found to have accepted $4 million to run bogus antigambling campaigns. And the investigation also highlighted Mr. Abramoff’s efforts to curry favor with the House majority leader at the time, Tom DeLay, Republican of Texas, a longtime political foe who had opposed many of Mr. McCain’s legislative priorities.
Mr. McCain’s campaign said the senator did not “single out†Ralph Reed or Mr. Norquist, neither of whom were ever charged, and that both men fell within the “scope of the investigation.†The inquiry, which led to guilty pleas by over a dozen individuals, was motivated by a desire to help aggrieved tribes, the campaign said.
Inside the investigation, the sense of schadenfreude was palpable, according to several people close to the senator. “It was like hitting pay dirt,†said one associate of Mr. McCain’s who had consulted with the senator’s office on the investigation. “And face it — McCain and Weaver were maniacal about Ralph Reed and Norquist. They were sticking little pins in dolls because those guys had cost him South Carolina.â€
Down on the Coushattas reservation, bills related to the investigation kept coming. After firing Mr. Abramoff, the tribe hired Kent Hance, a lawyer and former Texas congressman who said he had been friends with Mr. McCain since the 1980s.
David Sickey, the tribe’s vice chairman, said he was “dumbfounded†over the bills submitted by Mr. Hance’s firm, Hance Scarborough, which had been hired by Mr. Sickey’s predecessors.
“The very thing we were fighting seemed to be happening all over again — these absurd amounts of money being paid,†Mr. Sickey said.
Mr. Hance’s firm billed the tribe nearly $1.3 million over 11 months in legal and political consulting fees, records show. But Mr. Sickey said that the billing statements offered only vague explanations for services and that he could not point to any tangible results. Two consultants, for instance, were paid to fight the expansion of gambling in Texas — even though it was unlikely given that the governor there opposed any such prospect, Mr. Sickey said.
Mr. Hance and Jay B. Stewart, the firm’s managing partner, defended their team’s work, saying they successfully steered the tribe through a difficult period. “We did an outstanding job for them,†Mr. Hance said. “When we told them our bill was going to be $100,000 a month, they thought we were cheap. Mr. Abramoff had charged them $1 million a month.â€
The firm’s fees covered the services of Mr. Fletcher, who served as the tribe’s spokesman. Records also show that Mr. Hance had Mr. Weaver — who was serving as Mr. McCain’s chief strategist — put on the tribe’s payroll from February to May 2005.
It is not precisely clear what role Mr. Weaver played for his $100,000 fee.
Mr. Stewart said Mr. Weaver was hired because “he had a lot of experience with the Senate, especially the new chairman, John McCain.†The Hance firm told the tribe in a letter that Mr. Weaver was hired to provide “representation for the tribe before the U.S. Senate.â€
But Mr. Weaver never registered to lobby on the issue, and he has another explanation for his work.
Barbour Griffith & Rogers wanted Mr. McCain to hold a hearing that would show that the Bureau of Indian Affairs was “broken,†said Bradley A. Blakeman, who was a lobbyist for the firm at the time.
“It was our hope that the hearing would shed light on the fact that the bureau had not followed their rules and had improperly granted recognition to the Schaghticoke,†Mr. Blakeman said. “And that the bureau would revisit the issue and follow their rules.â€
Mr. McCain’s staff helped that effort by offering strategic advice.
His staff told a lobbyist for the firm that the Indian Affairs Committee “would love to receive a letter†from the Connecticut governor requesting a hearing, according to an e-mail exchange, and offered “guidance on what the most effective tone and approach†would be in the letter.
On May 11, 2005, Mr. McCain held a hearing billed as a general “oversight hearing on federal recognition of Indian tribes.†But nearly all the witnesses were Schaghticoke opponents who portrayed the tribe as imposters.
Mr. McCain set the tone: “The role that gaming and its nontribal backers have played in the recognition process has increased perceptions that it is unfair, if not corrupt.â€
Chief Richard F. Velky of the Schaghticokes found himself facing off against the governor and most of the state’s congressional delegation. “The deck was stacked against us,†Mr. Velky said. “They were given lots of time. I was given five minutes.â€
He had always believed Mr. McCain “to be an honest and fair man,†Mr. Velky said, “but this didn’t make me feel that good.â€
Mr. Velky said he felt worse when the e-mail messages between the tribe’s opponents and Mr. McCain’s staff surfaced in a federal lawsuit. “Is there a letter telling me how to address the senator to give me the best shot?†Mr. Velky asked. “No, there is not.â€
After the hearing, Pablo E. Carrillo, who was Mr. McCain’s chief Abramoff investigator at the time, wrote to a Barbour Griffith & Rogers lobbyist, Brant Imperatore. “Your client’s side definitely got a good hearing record,†Mr. Carillo wrote, adding “you probably have a good sense†on where Mr. McCain “is headed on this.â€
Ahh, my old friend the confusion -> anger -> resignation trifecta. How would I deal with political news without you?
The only upside to this campaign is that I can't think of a better way to guarantee every person under the age of 30 breaks democratic for the rest of their lives. And we're creating a new grassroots organization who expect the most shameless, batshit crazy opposition imaginable to go with it.
edit: To the particular article, I don't doubt it's coming and it won't matter. Yet another non-event to add to the pile of examples of McCain being insane and flailing for stunts to save himself.
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VariableMouth CongressStroke Me Lady FameRegistered Userregular
edited September 2008
I have to say, anyone who would hope a state goes red to... validate your hate or whatever, you're insane.
insane = hold an opinion I fend questionable at best. seems really fucked up to me.
Ahh, my old friend the confusion -> anger -> resignation trifecta. How would I deal with political news without you?
The only upside to this campaign is that I can't think of a better way to guarantee every person under the age of 30 breaks democratic for the rest of their lives. And we're creating a new grassroots organization who expect the most shameless, batshit crazy opposition imaginable to go with it.
edit: To the particular article, I don't doubt it's coming and it won't matter. Yet another non-event to add to the pile of examples of McCain being insane and flailing for stunts to save himself.
I won't be impressed until he dresses like a fly and tries to scale the Empire State Building.
I can't even see a wedding helping that much. I mean, it's not like Sarah Palin's daughter is fucking royalty.
Sentry on
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
wrote:
When I was a little kid, I always pretended I was the hero,' Skip said.
'Fuck yeah, me too. What little kid ever pretended to be part of the lynch-mob?'
Posts
Hey now, that's my line.
Red. We don't need them.
Steam | Twitter
Blue provides more of a public mandate.
Red. Let's not waste a ton of money there next time, please.
Also fuck Florida.
Blue, as in under water (my grandfather has a boat, so my family's covered)
Red lets us stop lying to ourselves.
Steam | Twitter
No, bullshit rumor.
Has this been posted yet?
This, the more Blue states the better.
Most of the article isn't about his gambling habits.
Well I could have said 'and as for the rest, his cronies seem corrupt as fuck' but I assumed you knew that already. :P
:x
I hate it here.
Also, may we please shoot Fred Armisen? How did this guy get on SNL?
"The media called it a tie, and independent voters called it overwhelmingly for Obama. Obama just doesn't understand that I won. Even Obama agrees with me!"
*cues The Battle Hymn of the Republic*
If you're trying to say you won, it probably wouldn't be smart to say that everyone called it a tie. Well, smart in a general sense, because obviously his base will eat up the "liberal media bias" thing.
The guy has no shame.
I....what? I mean, WHAT? Does he even remember what he did 3 days ago?
Also, Obama campain needs to get rid of eight houses line kthnxbai.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/27/AR2008092702834.html?sid=ST2008092702850&s_pos=list
blue
I've used my time to canvass and volunteer for the campaign. I understand that my state is goddamn retarded, but sometimes you guys rag on us a little too much and it gets on my nerves
Otherwise, blue.
Now if I could guarantee victory and had the choice of Ohio and Florida...
Colorado natives get ready for Obama to come back yet again. He will be here on Monday but the exact time and location have not been determined yet. Michelle Obama will be visiting Boulder Colorado Wednesday and that time and location(somewhere at CU) is still being worked out as well. I'm wondering if their internal polling is showing the same thing as 538 since they are showing us so much attention.
And... I don't want to be alone!
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
Hate Vegas so much.
Also, nice story.
This reminds me of The Birdcage.
Ahh, my old friend the confusion -> anger -> resignation trifecta. How would I deal with political news without you?
The only upside to this campaign is that I can't think of a better way to guarantee every person under the age of 30 breaks democratic for the rest of their lives. And we're creating a new grassroots organization who expect the most shameless, batshit crazy opposition imaginable to go with it.
edit: To the particular article, I don't doubt it's coming and it won't matter. Yet another non-event to add to the pile of examples of McCain being insane and flailing for stunts to save himself.
insane = hold an opinion I fend questionable at best. seems really fucked up to me.
I won't be impressed until he dresses like a fly and tries to scale the Empire State Building.
I can't even see a wedding helping that much. I mean, it's not like Sarah Palin's daughter is fucking royalty.