This Reign of McCain Has Really Been a Pain
By Chuck Muth (04/09/06)
By all accounts, there are a herd of additional shoes yet to drop in the
Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. The question is whether or not this public
scrutiny will be limited to just the low-lying fruit, or if some serious
investigations will take place - including an investigation of one of the
chief investigators: St. John McCain, Arizona Republican.
When stories of Jack Abramoff taking various Indian tribes to the cleaners
first hit the press, McCain - Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs
Committee and author of the un-American, anti-free speech McCain-Feingold
campaign censorship law - decided this would be an excellent opportunity to
settle some old scores, help out some old pals, and do what Sen. McCain does
best...get media attention for Sen. McCain.
But here's what's wrong with Sen. McCain using his position as chief of the
Indian Affairs committee to pursue an "investigation" of the Indian lobbyist
matter: First, this taxpayer-funded fishing expedition has dragged on for
over two years now. Heck, the Paula Jones investigation AND the impeachment
of Bill Clinton combined took less time. Secondly, McCain - or more
specifically, his all-but-officially-declared presidential campaign -
appears to have profited from this crusade more than truth, justice and the
American way.
Before McCain's investigatory machine sprung into action, Jack Abramoff and
another GOP lobbyist named Scott Reed were the two top lobbying dogs for
Indian tribes. Yet McCain has used his committee to subject Abramoff's
dealings to a veritable proctological exam while all but ignoring Reed.
What's up with that?
Well, you see, Jack Abramoff had strong connections in conservative circles,
and McCain has no love for conservative grassroots activists. Suffice it to
say that movement conservatives, especially Grover Norquist of Americans for
Tax Reform (ATR), had a LOT to do with derailing McCain's "Straight Talk
Express" in the 2000 presidential primary. And McCain hasn't forgotten.
As for Reed, there's no love lost there with conservatives either. A
philosophical liberal, Reed is perhaps best known for "titanic'ing" the
disastrous 1996 Bob Dole presidential campaign. He subsequently transformed
into a fat-cat lobbyist and "useful idiot" for Big Labor. Nevertheless,
Reed still has deep ties into the GOP's moderate establishment wing dating
back to his days with the Republican National Committee. He'd be an asset
to anyone running for president in 2008. Like...well, John McCain.
Now, as McCain's pursuit of Abramoff and grassroots conservatives
progressed, including subpoenas for emails and donor records from ATR,
Norquist responded by, according to Ryan Lizza of The New Republic, charging
"that McCain's entire investigation was actually an elaborate plot to help
McCain's favored influence-peddlers score Abramoff's ex-clients." This was
a clear reference to Reed. But not without cause.
As the Washington insider newspaper The Hill reported in March 2004, McCain
wrote at least one letter on Senate letterhead praising Reed to one of
Abramoff's clients, the Saginaw Chippewa. Five days later, Abramoff was
fired and the Saginaw Chippewa tribe retained Reed. In addition, columnist
Bob Novak reported last December that on the eve of the investigation's
hearings, Reed handed some $200,000 in bundled contributions to McCain.
Does this smell, or what?
For his part, again according to Lizza, Reed confronted Norquist on the
street in front of ATR's building and told the anti-tax conservative to,
well, uh...do that sex thing to himself which Dick Cheney once suggested to
Pat Leahy - if you get my drift and I think you do. Like I said...no love
lost.
The thing is, this McCain "investigation" looks like a real scandal in and
of itself. If there are/were actual crimes involved, that's what the
Justice Department is for, not the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
Instead, McCain appears to be using his committee and his position to (a)
grandstand for his 2008 presidential campaign, (b) pay back conservatives
who opposed him in 2000, and (c) scratch the back of a well-heeled lobbyist
who is scratching right back.
This is not what congressional hearings are supposed to be about. This
smacks of abuse of senatorial power. But will anyone in the fawning
mainstream press, with whom McCain has had a long-standing love affair, take
this "maverick" to task for his McCarthy-like behavior? Don't hold you
breath waiting. The media won't do anything to jeopardize a potential John
McCain vs. Hillary Clinton race in 2008. Between now and then, St. John
could almost get away with murder.
Chuck Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, the views expressed are his own
and do not necessarily reflect the views of Citizen Outreach.
Copyright 2006 Chuck Muth. All rights reserved.
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