Daily Kos

The Norquist-Abramoff Circle

by kos

Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:18:14 AM PDT

National Journal:

About once a month since 2001, Grover Norquist has invited a top Bush administration official or a Republican congressional leader to dine with him and some 20 or 30 corporate lobbyists who help subsidize Americans for Tax Reform, the anti-tax group that Norquist heads.

The dinners at Norquist's Washington, D.C., home aren't cheap: The lobbyists pay ATR between $10,000 and $25,000 a year for the privilege of attending several of the intimate get-togethers, which have featured the likes of White House political guru Karl Rove and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, according to several lobbyists who have attended.

From time to time over the years, the K Street crowd has been joined at the dinners by other ATR supporters, including the leaders of some casino-owning Indian tribes who were top clients of one of Norquist's oldest friends, former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Representatives of the Saginaw Chippewas of Michigan, the Louisiana Coushattas, and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians were among those who either attended or helped to finance some of the Norquist-hosted soirees that were advertised as tax policy events. Moreover, some of these same tribal representatives also attended brief meetings at the White House with President Bush that Norquist has organized annually since 2001 for dozens of state legislators who have pushed anti-tax measures or signed anti-tax pledges.

The Indian tribes' participation in the ATR dinners and the White House visits underscores the long and successful political partnership that Norquist and Abramoff have maintained since the early 1980s, when Norquist managed Abramoff's successful campaign to be chairman of the College Republicans.

So Abramoff and Norquist are joined at the hip. And that's when the story gets really good. Read the whole piece.

(Thanks to the National Journal, which moved the story to a free part of its site after I asked.)

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Tags: Jack Abramoff, Grover Norquist (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions

Permalink | 51 comments

  •  A Web of corruption... (none / 0)

    Why am I not surprised? Time to cut this web down.

    by MountOlympus on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:14:39 AM PDT

  •  Don't wake me... (none / 0)

    I'm having a wet dream.

    DeLay, Rove, Frist, Libby, Norquist, Ney, Reed...

    Please don't wake me, I'm almost there...

    New on EWM, Breaking news: "Environmental Disaster: Republicans get Protection in Endangered Species Act."

    by The Eyewitness Muse on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:18:01 AM PDT

  •  Stop the false modesty, Kos (4.00 / 4)

    (Thanks to the National Journal, which moved the story to a free part of its site after I asked.)

    This proves, of course, that you're much more than just a guy with a blog.

    NFTT Progressively supporting the troops

    by Timroff on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:20:11 AM PDT

  •  These Stories (none / 0)

    Are coming faster and faster. The days of massive republican corruption are coming to an end. The web is entangling everyone and they will all fall at once. Any day now. Soon. Right? This month? Please?

    -7.38/-7.69

    by Bob D on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:21:46 AM PDT

    •  Caution: A wounded beast becomes much (4.00 / 3)

      more dangerous.  How much more damage can these right wing hacks do?  There are still a few New Deal programs that they haven't killed.  Social Security is still alive and in their sights.

      Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else. --Will Rogers

      by groggy on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:27:41 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  I think they're politically impotent (none / 0)

        but you don't need votes on the house or senate floor to fabricate an act of terrorism and respond by attacking. . Iran or Venezuela to deflect attention.

        These people are certifiable. I mean, there's corruption and then there's Corruption. These people are so entwined with one anothers sins that I believe they are capable of anything to prevent getting caught. And I mean anything. Every passing day we ask ourselves can they be anymore insane?

        Apparently, yes, they can.

        NOT THIS TIME!

        by donailin on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 01:29:59 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

    •  it'll go further underground (none / 0)

      but that doesn't mean we can't hack away in the meantime

      McCain is not a moderate, a maverick, or a man of integrity.

      by marjo on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 11:16:13 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Kos (none / 0)

    is this new?  or just a confirmation of the rumors?

    by bobnbob on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:22:54 AM PDT

  •  A Liberal Norquist?? (none / 1)

    Do we have anybody like this guy??  Who has meetings like this.....basically gets everybody ON MESSAGE?  If not, then why the hell doesn't somebody get the ball rolling?

    by TheRover on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:25:25 AM PDT

  •  The real reason for the bathtub (4.00 / 10)

    Norquist is on a quest to destroy the government so that he and his kind can accept bribes, hire cronies, and empty the till at will. It's never been about "getting the government off the people's backs." It's been about getting the government off would-be white collar criminals' backs.

    by MattK D1 on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:25:56 AM PDT

    •  That and skimming (4.00 / 6)

      It's not just the out and out bribery and influence peddling - it's the much more serious attempt to redirect revenue streams into the "private sector" - SSI is a perfect example of this:

      The lie: - the Norquist/Kristol meme - "a private investor will be incentivized to give you a better return on the investment of those same SSI taxes".

      The Truth: They'll eat up the extra profit (if any) in fees and other skimming tricks.  

      What they don't like: - the FDR approach - the government will buy it's own T-Bills which are quite safe and give a decent return.  They can't skim any of it, and the money goes to work on the public's behalf in the meantime.

      -4.13, -5.59

      by montpellier on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 11:17:42 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  Is it okay to dream (none / 0)

      about drowning Grover Norquist in a bathtub?  Just asking.

      "A president who breaks the law is a threat to the very structure of our government....President Bush has repeatedly violated the law for six years." Al Gore

      by psnyder on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 01:21:59 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  So how can all this stuff be going on in the (none / 1)

    White House...deals with shady "lobbyists," outing CIA agents...

    and the President's Chief Counsel not know what's going on?

    Just wondering....

    by suzq on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:26:54 AM PDT

  •  Norquist and the Banana Republicans (4.00 / 14)

    For more on the friends of Abramoff and Norquist, see:

    "America's Most Wanted: The Banana Republicans."

    by Avenging Angel on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:26:56 AM PDT

  •  The tendrils of corruption (4.00 / 2)

    are so pervasive I can't keep track of them all.

    We really need to have a simplified view of this that the less engaged public can understand, or they'll just tune it out.

    John McCain - all aboard the lobbyist express!

    by jrooth on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:28:43 AM PDT

  •  Huh! DLC? (none / 1)

    Marshall Wittman, a onetime Christian Coalition lobbyist who now works for the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.

    How many more of these are at the DLC?  And what does "now works for the DLC mean"?  Works as what?  Collecting money from lobbyists?

    Anyone at the DLC want start a values discussion now?

    -6.00/-7.18

    by TarheelDem on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:36:54 AM PDT

  •  Requesting Title Change (none / 0)

    The Norquist-Abramoff Circle Jerk

    by rpmjr on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:37:11 AM PDT

  •  Even Grover Norquist, it would seem... (none / 0)

    ...is coming close to conflating his inner circle with corruption.

    Norquist charged that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, who has been leading the Senate inquiry into Abramoff's alleged lobbying abuses, "hates Bush and hates DeLay, and Jack is an ally and friend of both." A McCain spokesman pointed out that the senator has said he "hates corruption," not DeLay or Bush.

    (from the same National Journal article which opens the thread)

    Couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch.

    John McCain voted against health care for kids.

    by Land of Enchantment on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:53:57 AM PDT

  •  As an American Indian I puke at the idea of (none / 1)

    any Indian tribe getting involved with Republican lobbyists or politicians. In the old days, Indians who lived in or near the military forts, and accepted allotments, were called loafers.  These tribes need to move away from buying corrupt political influence and develop their own lobbyist from their own tribal members. These tribes have become modern day political loafers!  

    I have long suggested that various Indian tribes need to unify and develop a single focused strategy in order to combine resources, monies, and speak with one voice. Sound familiar?

    Sad to say, some tribes have turned over the new found source of their wealth, and running of their business to corporations, and professional lobbyist's, who certainly are taking advantage of their tribal naivety.

    "Liberals feel unworthy of their possessions. Conservatives feel they deserve everything they've stolen." Mort Sahl

    by maggiemae on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:57:51 AM PDT

    •  Couple of centuries late for that, (none / 0)

      doncha think?

      I have long suggested that various Indian tribes need to unify and develop a single focused strategy in order to combine resources, monies, and speak with one voice.

      We should all look out for the pox infected blankets from the great repug father.

      "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche"

      by dmun on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 01:02:25 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  I was alluding to the new found wealth (none / 0)

        of the Casino band of Indians all across the country.  

        We're over the beads and blankets.......

        "Liberals feel unworthy of their possessions. Conservatives feel they deserve everything they've stolen." Mort Sahl

        by maggiemae on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 01:25:16 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

  •  Lazy + Ressentiment = Norquist (4.00 / 3)

    Norquist has never had a real job in his life and yet his sole pre-occupation in life is getting out of paying taxes. No wonder the Estate Tax gets him so riled up; he's one of the few Americans who would have to pay it. But he's resentful and hurt because he thinks he is entitled to everything his ancestors actually worked to earn. Talk about a welfare queen! He just wants to make a few bucks at the expense of society at large. Greedy, uncouth, savage: Republican.

    Conservatism is a social disease, a psychological defect of timid minds and emotionally bruised egos. It is the revenge of the nerds and it will be crushed.

    by Didi Hylobates on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 10:58:46 AM PDT

  •  When will the MSM connect the dots??? (none / 0)

    Now it's Norquist. How about this list?
    Norquist
    Abramoff
    Delay
    Reed
    Atta

    Abramoff strong-armed Gus Boulis for his SunCruz empire. Delay helped him. Boullis killed in a gangland-style hit. Delay and Abramoff take one of the casino cruise boats and put it off the coast of Saipan. Reed and Abramoff accused of strong-arming Indians for a piece of their Casino action. No regulation or oversight (none) of the casino cruise business (can you say money laundering? If not, ask Delay - he knows how). Mohammed Atta (and cohorts) frequent the SunCruz boats prior to 9-11. Bush stops the inquiries into funding for terrorists (we used ot do that under Clinton, Bush quashed it).
    Hmmmm.
    Smoke and mirrors, smoke and mirrors. Move along, nothing to see here.

    "In a time of universal deceit -- telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

    by MA Liberal on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 11:04:58 AM PDT

  •  Kos here is another angle. (none / 1)

    Magaret Thatcher has been implicated in the Abramoff case.  Reading between the lines of the Mirror article it seems that she is feeding investigators information about Delay and Abramoff because her son was excluded from the US. Furthermore she is understood to be pissed off about Michael Howard's exclusion from the White House by Karl Rove.  Widen the circle of research on this and see if any Americans were invovled in Mark Thatcher's coup scheme.  The slush funds are probably being spent on coup planning world wide.

    "It's a race to decide who the British goverment will follow blindly for the next 4 years" Kennedy/Kerry '08

    by Salo on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 11:23:12 AM PDT

    •  Sorry for whoring my diary. (none / 0)

      .

      "It's a race to decide who the British goverment will follow blindly for the next 4 years" Kennedy/Kerry '08

      by Salo on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 11:24:53 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  It was, after all, (none / 0)

      A coup in an up-and-coming oil state. Well might the Baroness paraphrase Frank Costanza: "My boy's not smart enough to hatch a scheme like this on his own."

      Conservatism is a social disease, a psychological defect of timid minds and emotionally bruised egos. It is the revenge of the nerds and it will be crushed.

      by Didi Hylobates on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 01:27:22 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Dear Santa: (none / 0)

    This is perro. Please forget all that other stuff, including the new bicycle and Ipod Nano. I don't even really need the 42" HD Plasma or a pair of Crocs.

    All I want for Christmas is an indictment of Grover Norquist.

    Thanks, Santa,

    perro.

    9/11 changed everything. And we're gonna change it back.

    by perro amarillo on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 11:49:49 AM PDT

  •  K Street needs a mascot! (none / 0)

    I nominate "Lobbie the Lobster".

    The Great Obama might saw the lady in half, but he won't make the elephant disappear. The Confluence

    by RonK Seattle on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 11:57:30 AM PDT

  •  Connection (none / 0)

    Mark my words-this thing will come down to Scanlon.  He used to be Delay's mouthpiece and then went to work with Abramoff.  He left his pregnant wife for a woman who also worked for Delay.  Mistress goes to work for the State Department.  He then left her.  The ex and the mistress got together and suddenly all these Delay stories come out in The WaPo.  From a State Department reporter.  

    It is revenge pure and simple.

    by chap on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 12:22:04 PM PDT

    •  Do us up a (none / 0)

      dairy on this.  That's a beautiful angle.  Same thing happened to G-Dub's pick for U.S. attorney here in New Orleans Fred Heebe.  He was taken out of consideration after a shafted woman started talking to the press about hiom being physically abusive.

      I like to hide mine in the crack of a turkey.

      by DoobyOne on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 02:00:33 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  I find it hysterical (none / 0)


    that Mr. Anti-Tax has parties for lobbyists.

    Does anybody here associate the word 'lobbyist' with 'more efficient' or 'cheaper'?

    Yeah, I thought so.

    If we eliminate the slippery slope argument, pretty soon we'll eliminate all argument and everybody will agree.

    by m3 on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 01:25:00 PM PDT

  •  Gover Norquist=Human Waste (none / 0)

    All these guys need to be purged from the National debate.

    They have no place in America.

    Send em all to South America where the locals can tar and feather em for the neo-Nazis they are.

    U.S. blue collar vs. CEO income in 1992 was 1:80; in 1999 it was 1:475.

    by Lode Runner on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 01:38:05 PM PDT

  •  Indians ? How about indicted terrorists ? (none / 0)

    Also brought on by the dinamic duo ? So troubling are the connections that even some neocons freaked out !

    The Center for Security Policy - Islamist penetration of Homeland Security?

    (Washington, D.C.): For over two years, the Center for Security Policy has been warning that organizations and individuals sympathetic to or otherwise supportive of the radical, intolerant and jihadist subset of the Muslim faith known as "Islamists" have mounted a sophisticated political influence operation against the Bush Administration. Today?s Washington Times contains a column by Center President Frank Gaffney entitled "Dubious Company" that describes a meeting Secretary of State Colin Powell held with representatives of four such groups just last Thursday.

    Unfortunately, it now seems clear that this influence operation has succeeded in getting more than meetings with senior officials. According to the on-line magazine Salon.com, a seemingly unqualified individual nonetheless secured a position as the policy director for the Department of Homeland Security's intelligence division, thanks to his ties to a well-connected political activist named Grover Norquist.

    Norquist?s activities on behalf of, and together with, Islamist sympathizers and associates has been documented by numerous publications -- including a detailed analysis by Mr. Gaffney which appeared last December in FrontPageMagazine.com ("A Troubling Influence"). Norquist's apparent role in the case of Faisal Gill is particularly interesting, however, insofar as it seems unlikely that Mr. Gill would have been considered for - let alone actually secured - his Homeland Security post but for the Norquist connection

    The nature of that connection is all the more troubling insofar as .. "the FBI raised concerns with Homeland Security officials...after discovering that Gill had failed to list on security clearance documents his work in 2001 with the American Muslim Council." (The AMC and its operations feature prominently in a lengthy investigative article concerning Islamist activities centered in Herndon, Virginia.)

          The advocacy group, which was controlled by Abdurahman Alamoudi, has been under scrutiny in an investigation of terrorism financing.  "Alamoudi was indicted last year on terrorism-related money-laundering charges and now claims to have been part of a plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah." The lead agent in that investigation works for an arm of Homeland Security. Gill's omission of the information on his "Standard Form 86" national security questionnaire is a potential felony violation.


    Boston Globe: THE TERRORIST WHO CAME TO THE WHITE HOUSE

     Sami Al-Arian [was] arrested ..on charges of financing, organizing, and materially abetting Palestinian Islamic Jihad..

     A résumé like that should have made Al-Arian radioactive -- the kind of person anyone with political ambitions or decent instincts would shun. So why in the world would [Al Arian] be treated as a friend and ally by -- of all people -- George W. Bush?

    Why, for example, did Bush make a point of posing for pictures with Al-Arian and his family during a 2000 campaign stop in Tampa? Why was Al-Arian not only invited to a White House briefing given by Bush aide Karl Rove in June 2001 -- against the advice of the Secret Service -- but honored with a front-row seat? Why was his son Abdullah invited to yet another White House meeting a few days later?..

    Al-Arian is not the only Islamist zealot who has gained access to Bush and his inner circle.

    Consider, for example, Abdurahman Alamoudi, the founder of the American Muslim Council, an extremist group with a record of defending terrorism and denouncing the United States. A year before the Rove briefing brought scores of AMC members to the White House, Alamoudi was one of several Muslims invited to meet with candidate Bush in Austin, Texas



    FrontPage magazine.com :: A Troubling Influence

    Why We Are Publishing This Article by David Horowitz
    It is with a heavy heart.. that I am posting this article, which is the most complete documentation extant of Grover Norquist's activities in behalf of the Islamist Fifth Column...

    it seems beyond dispute that Grover Norquist has formed alliances with prominent Islamic radicals who have ties to the Saudis and to Libya and to Palestine Islamic Jihad, and who are now under indictment by U.S. authorities. Equally troubling is that the arrests of these individuals and their exposure as agents of terrorism have not resulted in noticeable second thoughts on Grover's part or any meaningful effort to dissociate himself from his unsavory friends.

    As Frank Gaffney's article recounts, Grover's own Islamic Institute was initially financed by one of the most notorious of these operatives, Abdurahman Alamoudi, a supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah.. Grover appointed Alamoudi's deputy, Khaled Saffuri to head his own organization. Together they gained access to the White House for Alamoudi and Sami al-Arian and others with similar agendas who used their cachet to spread Islamist influence to the American military and the prison system and the universities and the political arena with untold consequences for the nation.


    The Permanent Republican Majority lasted about as long as The Thousand Year Reich

    by lawnorder on Mon Oct 03, 2005 at 09:01:32 PM PDT

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