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View Full Version : Jack Abramoff: ‘The whole system’ is corrupt




Dianne
11-07-2011, 04:08 AM
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/11/06/jack-abramoff-the-whole-system-is-corrupt/

Notorious former lobbyist Jack Abramoff is a free man again, after serving three and a half years in prison for corruption and fraud. In an interview aired by CBS on Sunday, he told correspondent Leslie Stahl about the tricks of his former trade.

Abramoff, who readily admits to his former corrupt activities, told Stahl, “I was actually thinking of writing a book — The Idiot’s Guide to Buying a Congressman — as a way to put this all down. First, I think most congressmen don’t feel they’re being bought. Most congressmen, I think, can in their own mind justify the system — rationalize it — and, by the way, we wanted as lobbyists for them to feel that way.”

“I spent over a million dollars a year on tickets to sporting events and concerts and what not at all the venues,” Abramoff boasted. He insisted, however, that the very best way to buy the favors of a Congressional office is to offer the chief of staff a job.


“When we would become friendly with an office,” he explained, “and they were important to us, and the chief of staff was a competent person, I would say or my staff would say to him or her at some point, ‘You know, when you’re done working on the Hill, we’d very much like you to consider coming to work for us.’ Now the moment I said that to them or any of our staff said that to ‘em, that was it. We owned them.”

He told Stahl that he exercised that kind of influence in a hundred different Congressional offices and that many members of Congress could have been charged with crimes for the favors they did him.

“I think people are under the impression that the corruption only involves somebody handing over a check and getting a favor,” Abramoff explained. “And that’s not the case. The corruption — the bribery call it, because ultimately that’s what it is — that’s what the whole system is. … The truth is there were very few members who I could even name or could think of who didn’t at some level participate in that.”

Abramoff doesn’t put much faith in the reforms that have been enacted since his own downfall. He pointed out, “You can’t take a congressman to lunch for $25 and buy him a hamburger or a steak of something like that. But you can take him to a fundraising lunch and not only buy him that steak but give him $25,000 extra and call it a fundraiser. … The system hasn’t been cleaned up at all.”

It is not altogether clear from the interview, however, how truly repentant Abramoff is. When Stahl told him that the things he was describing made her “sick to my stomach,” he almost seemed to be laughing as he agreed, “Right. Evil. Yeah. Terrible. Shameful. Absolutely.”

This video is from CBS News, November 6, 2011.

moostraks
11-07-2011, 07:04 AM
But the corruption only starts once they get into office, right?:rolleyes: It isn't like they play any dirty tricks to get elected...

Everyone should have the joy of the experience of living with a narcissistic sociopath, an abusive spouse, and see government abuse through the courts or of government paid personnel. Then the thought of how systemic the corruption is would not be so far fetched. The system is run by a bunch of soulless greedy individuals with no moral compass. To think they play by the rules is to live in fantasyland. I hope he does write his book. Although it would be dismissed as conspiracy theory by a disgruntled ex-con.

pcosmar
11-07-2011, 07:29 AM
As a broad-based network representing people across the political spectrum, we are working together to reach common ground and fight for pivotal political reforms. Members of this social network are part a decentralized movement that has two goals:

1) End the System of Political Bribery
2) Break Up the “Too Big To Fail” Banks and the Federal Reserve

this is what the movement has been about,, despite the deliberate confusion.

oyarde
11-07-2011, 11:53 AM
//

Brian4Liberty
11-07-2011, 12:03 PM
He insisted, however, that the very best way to buy the favors of a Congressional office is to offer the chief of staff a job.

“When we would become friendly with an office,” he explained, “and they were important to us, and the chief of staff was a competent person, I would say or my staff would say to him or her at some point, ‘You know, when you’re done working on the Hill, we’d very much like you to consider coming to work for us.’ Now the moment I said that to them or any of our staff said that to ‘em, that was it. We owned them.”


Why does that sound familiar? Must be Rick Perry and his Gardasil vaccine executive order for Merck, with his Chief of Staff right in the middle.


Texas Gov. Rick Perry's GOP rivals sharply criticized him during Wednesday night's debate over his 2007 executive order mandating that teenage girls be vaccinated to prevent cervical cancer — a move that drew strong opposition at the time from social conservatives and was later overturned by the state Legislature.

But they failed to bring up a key part of the story that fueled the Texas controversy and which Democrats are poised to pounce on: Perry's order came after the drug company that manufactured the vaccine hired Mike Toomey, his former chief of staff, as one of the firm's top lobbyists in Austin.

Toomey, who is now running the main "super pac" backing Perry's candidacy, was retained by pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., maker of the Gardasil vaccine, which is designed to prevent the human papillomavirus, or HPV, an infection linked to cervical cancer in women.

His hiring was part of an aggressive lobbying push in Texas by the drug company, which also donated $16,000 to Perry's gubernatorial campaigns in the two and a half years prior to the executive order. Merck paid Toomey between $260,000 and $535,000 in lobbying fees between 2005 and 2010, according to state lobbying records.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44442051/ns/politics/t/perrys-merck-link-spotlight-following-vaccine-order/

Brian4Liberty
11-07-2011, 09:21 PM
Corruption bump.

moderate libertarian
11-07-2011, 11:18 PM
For those who haven't watched real events based movie "Casino Jack", watch it on netflix. It's very entertaining and educational. Kevin Spacey actually went to prison to visit with Abramoff to make it as realistic as possible. There are many interesting episodes there, one that I would cite here is where then GOP House majority leader Tom Delay , who claimed in interview with Max Blemnethal to have supported pastor John Hagee's "Christians United for Israel" from ground floor, actually addresses Jack Abramoff using deragotry K-word after their financial scandal hits the press. Fascinating movie based on real political drama covering K-street and other political dynamics.

TheBlackPeterSchiff
11-07-2011, 11:37 PM
Blame Capitalism :rolleyes:

vita3
11-08-2011, 06:12 AM
"The system hasn’t been cleaned up at all"

EvilEngineer
11-08-2011, 08:42 AM
Now... how do we get him to name Dr. Paul in an elaboration of this statement.

The truth is there were very few members who I could even name or could think of who didn’t at some level participate in that.”

phill4paul
11-08-2011, 08:45 AM
Now... how do we get him to name Dr. Paul in an elaboration of this statement.

This is what I was wondering. Given Paul's reputation I'd bet he never even interacted with him.

oyarde
11-08-2011, 12:08 PM
Anybody reads this book , let me know if it is worth reading , please .

Liberty_Mike
11-08-2011, 12:31 PM
Cenk from The Young Turks did a great piece on this yesterday!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe1d32I_wUY&feature=feedu