Reactions to story from The Washington Post

• 

  First, they come for Oprah

  http://blog.reidreport.com/2008/09/first-they-come-for-oprah...
  88 days ago in Reidblog [The Reid Report blog] · Authority: 53

  The coordinated right wing assault on the media, and the mega-marketing of Sarah Palin, is in full swing. Step one: intimidate the press into giving her only positive, glowing coverage, and scare them out of pursuing stories related to her family. Mission? Not accomplished. Instead, the bully boy tactics risk provoking a serious journo backlash. Step two: hide Sarah from the mainstream media. According to campaign spokesbarbie Nicole Wallace, Sarah doesn't need to talk to the press and that "the American people will learn all they need to know (and all they deserve to know) from Palin's scripted speeches and choreographed appearances on the campaign trail and in campaign ads." So there! Instead, she will be inserted into key swing markets, where she can help John McCain finally draw the big crowds he craves (and that he tried to get by glomming onto Barack Obama in his silly "town halls," and generating lots of local free media. Meanwhile, John Mac Daddy is pimping Sarah out to 30 fundraisers in 60 days. And now, the right is going after Oprah Winfrey, who came out in support of Barack Obama during hte primaries, igniting a furor from some of her female fans. From Drudge this morning: Oprah Winfrey may have introduced Democrat Barack Obama to the women of America -- but the talkshow queen is not rushing to embrace the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket! Oprah's staff is sharply divided on the merits of booking Sarah Palin, sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT. "Half of her staff really wants Sarah Palin on," an insider explains. "Oprah's website is getting tons of requests to put her on, but Oprah and a couple of her top people are adamantly against it because of Obama." One executive close to Winfrey is warning any Palin ban could ignite a dramatic backlash! It is not clear if Oprah has softened her position after watching Palin's historic convention speech.And this update: OPRAH'S STATEMENT: "The item in today's Drudge Report is categorically untrue. There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show. At the beginning of this Presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates. I agree that Sarah Palin would be a fantastic interview, and I would love to have her on after the campaign is over." But don't look for that to be the end of it. The right, particularly talk radio and the blogs, will now beat up on Oprah daily, and eventually, probably on Limbaugh, it will get racial. And the story will trigger a battle within the ranks of the media, too (it has already begun,) which will distract us into a war between the O and the B (barracuda, I mean...) Because in the end, what the right WANTS is a fist-fight with the media, with Oprah, with the "elite" blacks and effete "libs" (and lowly community organizers) who support Obama, and with anyone they can make noise attacking, because as long as the MSM is clanging and banging about the Oprah wars, they're not talking substantively about the one in ten Americans who are late on their mortgages or in forclosure, the 6.1 percent unemployment rate and eight straight months of job losses, Jack Abramoff, the mess in Iraq, including our government spying on the government we installed there, the fact that John McCain and his party and president and fellow Republicans have been in charge of this mess for 12 years between the Congress and the White House or ... well ... Sarah Palin, and whether she's even remotely qualified to possibly have to take on the biggest job in the country. As McCain's campaign manager said: this election will not be about issues, it will be about personas, and the battle to write the narratives for the four people on the ballot is on. In the end, maybe they'll even beat Oprah into submission and get Sarah on her show, which will produce HUGE ratings and even more talk about ... Sarah Palin ... maybe they'll prompt "The View" to schedule her with dispatch, producing still more big ratings, and getting Palin in front of as many potential women voters as possible, which they hope will excite even MORE winger women (and swing voting women) into voting for her ... I mean ... John McCain. And that's the way the right plans to win this election. When it's over, you won't know anything more about her than you've seen in her speech, their press releases, the mythology and hype, and the lone interviews she will likely do, not with real reporters, but on Fox News (and probably on right wing talk radio, too.) Watch for it. The right simply does this better than the left, and its how they convince ordinary people to keep them in power, even as they're screwing them. It worked when they sold you George W. Bush -- twice -- and it's still working to make you lionize Ronald Reagan. It's a game that I've never seen the Democrats out-play them in (except maybe the Clintons, but that wasn't deft myth-making, it was pure Bill charisma.) |
• 

  Jack Abramoff Sentenced to 4 Years

  http://blog.sunlightfoundation.com/2008/09/04/jack-abramoff-...
  89 days ago in Sunlight Foundation · Authority: 184

  Once one of the biggest lobbyists in Washington, Jack Abramoff was just sentenced to 4 years in prison. Abramoff faced up to 11 years, but his sentence was reduced due to his continued cooperation in the probe into officials that received bribes from Abramoff. Abramoff was previously sentenced to 70 months for his part in the illegal acquisition of SunCruz Casinos in Florida. Here’s a list to recap the Abramoff casualties, starting with those who either pleaded guilty or were found guilty: Officials and Lobbyists Brought Down in Abramoff Scandal Jack Abramoff Lobbyist, Preston Gates, Greenberg Traurig Convicted; Sentenced to 13 Years 4 Months Michael Scanlon Former Comm. Director to Rep. Tom DeLay; Public Relations Executive Pleaded Guilty Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) House of Representatives; Chair of Committee on House Administration Pleaded Guilty; Released from prison after serving 17 months J. Steven Griles Deputy Secretary of the Interior Pleaded Guilty; Sentenced to 10 months in prison Tony Rudy Deputy Chief of Staff to Rep. Tom DeLay; Lobbyist, Greenberg Traurig Pleaded Guilty David Safavian General Services Administration, Chief of Staff; Office of Management and Budget, Top Procurement Officer Convicted; Sentenced to 18 months in prison; Judge ruled prosecution over-reached and suspended prison sentence Neil Volz Chief of Staff to Rep. Bob Ney Pleaded Guilty Italia Federici President of Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy Pleaded Guilty Mark Zachares Aide to Rep. Don Young Pleaded Guilty John Albaugh Chief of Staff to Rep. Ernie Istook Pleaded Guilty Robert Carpenter Deputy Chief of Staff, Criminal Division, US Department of Justice Pleaded Guilty Roger Stillwell Desk Officer in charge Marianas Islands, Department of Interior Pleaded Guilty Adam Kidan Business Partner, SunCruz Casinos Pleaded Guilty; Sentenced to 5 years, ten months in prison Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) House of Representatives; Majority Leader Named in guilty pleas; Under investigation; Retired after the guilty plea of former staffer Tony Rudy Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) House of Representatives Named in guilty pleas; Under investigation; Houses raided by FBI; Retiring this year Former Rep. Ernie Istook (R-OK) House of Representatives Named in guilty pleas; Under investigation; No longer in Congress Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) House of Representatives Named in guilty pleas; Under investigation Ed Buckham Chief of Staff to Rep. Tom DeLay; Lobbyist Named in guilty pleas; Under investigation Kevin Ring Lobbyist, Greenberg Traurig Named in guilty pleas; Under investigation Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) House of Representatives Linked to Abramoff scandal; Defeated in 2006 election; Since acknowledged not under investigation Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) U.S. Senate Linked to Abramoff scandal; Defeated in 2006 election; Since acknowledged not under investigation Ralph Reed Former head of Christian Coalition; Lobbyist Named repeatedly in reports of Abramoff’s Indian tribe swindles; Lost 2006 Lt. Gov. race; Reputation in tatters Susan Ralston Special Assistant to the President; Deputy to Karl Rove Resigned her job; Sought immunity to testify before House committee; Justice Department still reviewing granting of immunity
• 

  Abramoff Sentenced To Four Years

  http://www.thetexasblue.com/abramoff-sentenced-to-four-years
  89 days ago in The Texas Blue | Advancing Progressive Ideas · Authority: 42

  Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff was sentenced to four years in Federal prison this afternoon after pleading guilty to charges of tax evasion, fraud and conspiracy. Abramoff has already served 22 months in prison for crimes associated with his lobbying activities with regards to Indian casinos in Florida. And I would be remiss if I didn't note that Stephen Silver, the lobbyist hired by the then-Mayor of Wasilla, Sarah Palin, worked on behalf of Team Abramoff. Besides his Abramoff connection, Mr. Silver had also worked for indicted Alaska Senator Ted Stevens (as his Chief of Staff) and has close ties to Alaska Representative Don Young, who is under investigation for alleged bribery.
• 

  Abramoff Sentenced to 4 Years

  http://www.actualteam.com/?p=3889
  89 days ago in Actual News · Authority: 1

  The sentence handed out by U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle comes nearly three years after Abramoff pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion, fraud and conspiracy for plying public officials with gifts in exchange for official actions. It means that Abramoff probably will remain in prison until 2012, regardless of whether his sentence in a separate Florida fraud and conspiracy case is reduced. Huvelle said she wrestled with the appropriate sentence for Abramoff because he has cooperated extensively with authorities but committed “serious offenses.” “This is a very challenging case,” Huvelle said, adding, “There was a consistent course of corrupt conduct, and, in a sense, it got much worse over time.” Abramoff apologized for his crimes, saying that he was no longer the person who “happily and arrogantly engaged in a lifestyle of political corruption and business corruption.” “I am sorry, so sorry, that I have put everyone through this,” he added. Prosecutors and defense lawyers sought leniency for Abramoff, citing his extensive cooperation extensively with the wide-ranging public corruption probe. He has been interviewed by prosecutors and investigators for more than 3,000 hours and has reviewed nearly half a million documents, lawyers said in court documents filed last week. That “extraordinary cooperation” prompted prosecutors to ask the judge to essentially sentence Abramoff to three years and three months, taking into account time he has served in the Florida case. That represents a substantial reduction from the 10- to 12 1/2 -year sentence recommended under federal guidelines. Abramoff’s attorneys sought a more lenient sentence that would have allowed their client to be released as early as 2010. Prosecutors wrote in court papers that Abramoff has described in detail how he and other lobbyists at his firm supplied meals, gifts, trips and “a stream of things of value to public officials in exchange for a stream of official action.” The Justice Department so far has secured 12 convictions or guilty pleas from public officials and lobbyists related to the Abramoff investigation. Among those who have pleaded guilty to corruption-related charges are former congressman Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), who was released from federal prison last month; Tony Rudy, a deputy chief of staff to former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.); and J. Steven Griles, a former deputy secretary at the Interior Department. In April, a former high-ranking official at the Justice Department, Robert E. Coughlin II, pleaded guilty to accepting thousands of dollars in meals and sports tickets from Abramoff and his lobbyists in exchange for helping their clients. Read more

Advertise on Technorati