They say you are judged by the company you keep, or in this case the Company that keeps you. In power. By lobbying....and bribery.If Jack Abramoff is the Prince of Darkness in Washington what does that make Ralph Reed?
Perhaps the right hand of god could explain the parable of Jesus and the money changers to his followers.
Ralph Reed Republican Anti-Christ.
Taking Over the Republican Party
"The Grand Old Party is more religious cult than political organization."
President of the Alamo City Republican Women's club, 1993
Will Abramoff's Deep Throat Swallow Thin Reed?
During Jack Abramoff’s reign as chair of the College Republican National Committee in the early 1980s, Ralph Reed and GOP operative Grover Norquist each did stints as that committee’s executive director. Abramoff, an Orthodox Jew, later helped Reed organize the remnants of evangelist Pat Robertson’s failed 1988 presidential bid into the politically potent Christian Coalition in 1989. Reed and Norquist resurfaced a decade later to help Abramoff extract tens of millions of dollars from Indian gambling interests and other clients. Now Abramoff has promised to walk federal prosecutors through his vast web of political corruption, thereby endangering the careers and reputations of members of Congress, other lobbyists and Ralph Reed—just as the preternaturally young-looking evangelist makes his first bid for public office. These prosecutors have subpoenaed records from Reed but have not identified him as a target of their investigation.
In Ga., Abramoff Scandal Threatens a Political Ascendancy
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. -- Ralph Reed, candidate for lieutenant governor, had just finished his opening statement to the Dawson County Republican Party when retired pulp paper executive Gary Pichon sprang from his seat with a question that cut to the chase:
"Did you accept any gifts, commissions or other payments of any kind from Mr. Abramoff, and are you likely to be a party in the unfolding investigationSilence enveloped the 60 or so Republicans in the auditorium, and Reed's cheerful manner turned tense. "No," he replied. "No to all these."
As everyone knew, Pichon was referring to Jack Abramoff, whose outsize Washington lobbying scandal has reached down to Georgia. Abramoff and Reed -- the former executive director of the Christian Coalition -- have been friends for 25 years, and until recently it had been a mutually profitable association. Now it is proving highly inconvenient for Reed, and threatens to stall a career that has been emblematic of the modern GOP.
Reed blasts ‘guilt by association’ in friendship with Abramoff
01/24/2006 By Greg Bluestein
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — Ralph Reed, former leader of the Christian Coalition and candidate for Georgia lieutenant governor, said Monday that he’s confident voters will reject accusations of ‘‘guilt by association’’ through his links to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Reed has been under intense scrutiny since his longtime friend Abramoff admitted to conspiring to defraud his Indian tribe clients and pleaded guilty to corruption-related charges.
Reed offers cash to drum up crowd for Christian Coalition
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/21/06
Ralph Reed wants a good crowd at today's annual gathering of the Christian Coalition of Georgia. And he's willing to shell out cash for it.
His Republican campaign for lieutenant governor sent an e-mail to supporters this week offering to pay the $20 entrance fee and — for out-of-towners — an overnight stay in a hotel.
Ralph Reed Pulls Out His Carpet Bag; Half of Reed's Donors from Out-of-State, Says Public Campaign Action FundAbramoff Scandal is Albatross for Ralph Reed
Disclosures that Reed once ran an anti-gambling campaign that was secretly financed by casino-owning clients of his friend Abramoff have damaged his ability to raise funds for a bid to become Georgia's next lieutenant governor, other Republicans say. That may undercut his chances of winning an office that he could use as a steppingstone to national political ambitions, they say.Campaign-finance reports filed this week show that Reed, 44, lagged behind opponent Casey Cagle in fundraising for the July 18 Republican primary during the past six months, after collecting more than twice as much money as his rival before that. Cagle raised $667,000 from June 30 to Dec. 31 to Reed's $404,000.
``A lot of those big corporate donors are now hedging their bets,'' said Matt Towery, the 1990 Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, who was once a colleague of Reed's on Capitol Hill. ``Ralph faces a very difficult and now problematic candidacy.''
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll last month showed Cagle and Reed would perform about equally well against the Democrats in the November election. The poll was conducted by Zogby International before Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiring to corrupt public officials.... Reed's fund-raising slowdown in the past six months coincided with the drumbeat of news about Abramoff and Reed's connections to him. Those ties are gaining more attention in the aftermath of Abramoff's Jan. 3 guilty plea and the widening probe into the potential bribery of lawmakers.
Poor Ralph Reed, having to defend himself against charges he is a shyster, a con artist, a bag man, a politcal snake oil salesman whose crime is bribery and influence pedaling and whose sin is avarice and pride.
It reminds me of that famous Doonesbury cartoon about another Republican guilty of avarice and pride; Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!
Photos Of Bush With Abramoff Withheld Oh dear it is really begining to sound oh so Nixonian. Ralph Reed+George W. Bush+Jack Abramoff= Guilty!Guilty! Guilty!
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