Ah, Ralph, we know you too well. Much as you might wish otherwise.
The Washington Post has the story of Reed's stubborn refusal to see the light.
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 investigation?"
Silence enveloped the 60 or so Republicans in the auditorium, and Reed's cheerful manner turned tense. "No," he replied. "No to all these."
More after the fold:
So, Ralph...may I call you Ralph? No? Heh.
Where'd the money come from?
At age 44, he still has the choirboy looks that have been noted in dozens of profiles over the past 20 years. But the first major dent in Reed's carefully cultivated image came with the disclosure in the summer of 2004 that his public relations and lobbying companies had received at least $4.2 million from Abramoff to mobilize Christian voters to fight Indian casinos competing with Abramoff's casino clients.
Ah, I see.
And what about those emails? You know, the ones Abramoff likes to keep on file?
Similarly damaging has been a torrent of e-mails revealed during the investigation that shows a side of Reed that some former supporters say cannot be reconciled with his professed Christian values.
"After reading the e-mail, it became pretty obvious he was putting money before God," said Phil Dacosta, a Georgia Christian Coalition member who had initially backed Reed. "We are righteously casting him out."
Among those e-mails was one from Reed to Abramoff in late 1998: "I need to start humping in corporate accounts! . . . I'm counting on you to help me with some contacts." Within months, Abramoff hired him to lobby on behalf of the Mississippi Band of Choctaws, who were seeking to prevent competitors from setting up facilities in nearby Alabama.
Are you sure you didn't get paid? Because this next bit sure makes it look that way:
In 1999, Reed e-mailed Abramoff after submitting a bill for $120,000 and warning that he would need as much as $300,000 more: "We are opening the bomb bays and holding nothing back."
In 2004, when the casino payments to Reed were disclosed, Reed issued a statement declaring "no direct knowledge of their [Abramoff's law firm's] clients or interests." In 2005, however, Senate investigators released a 1999 e-mail from Abramoff to Reed explicitly citing the client: "It would be really helpful if you could get me invoices [for services performed] as soon as possible so I can get Choctaw to get us checks ASAP."
This made me chuckle, albeit in a "Ouch, that's gotta hurt" kinda way:
One of the most damaging e-mails was sent by Abramoff to partner Michael Scanlon, complaining about Reed's billing practices and expenditure claims: "He is a bad version of us! No more money for him." Scanlon and Abramoff have pleaded guilty to defrauding clients.
Wow. A bad version of Abramoff and Scanlon? Makes you wonder what a good version would look like.
So, um, Ralphie...may I call you Ralphie? No? Heh.
How's that polling working out for you?
Although polling this many months before an election is not as reliable as surveys closer to November, a recent Zogby poll performed for the paper had troubling findings for Reed: When voters were asked to pick between "Republican Ralph Reed" and "a Democrat," the generic Democrat won 36 percent to 33 percent, although the state leans strongly Republican. When voters were asked to pick between "Republican Casey Cagle," a state senator running against Reed for the GOP nomination, and "a Democrat," Cagle won, 35 percent to 30 percent.
Ouch again. Generic Democrats are doing pretty well in some of these polls. Go figure.
I'm not sure what to think about the...colorful...phrasing of this guy, and then Reed later:
Whit Ayres, one of the state's best-known Republican consultants and pollsters, said the best way to determine Reed's political future would be to "ask Jack Abramoff. Only [the former lobbyist] and some prosecutors know what he has to say about Reed." Pichon, the Dawson County Republican, said: "If Reed ends up winning the primary, we might be at the point where we blow our brains out over that issue."
<snip>
After Reed first entered national politics as executive director of the Christian Coalition, he described to the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot his tactics in mobilizing Christian conservatives to sway elections: "I want to be invisible. I do guerrilla warfare. I paint my face and travel at night. You don't know it's over until you're in a body bag. You don't know until election night."
Gotta wonder what goes on in the murky depths for them to come up with phrases like that. <shudder>
Let's hear from the locals, instead:
Random interviews on Main Street in heavily Republican Alpharetta -- a rapidly growing town of 37,850 on the far northern suburbs of Atlanta -- suggested that even many people who follow politics casually are aware of the linkage between Reed and Abramoff.
"Ralph Reed? He's a politician," said David Loudenflager, a Republican who retired after working 32 years for the Arrow Shirt Company. "He was involved with Jack Abramoff and the Indians and all those."
Loudenflager does not like the Democratic Party -- "they give away everything" -- but he puts no stock in the Christian Coalition: "All these people running around telling you how good they are, and how right they are. You better be careful and hold on to your wallet."
Truer words were never spoken, David.
About that money again...
Of the work he did for Abramoff's firm, Reed said, "I agreed to do so having been assured that none of the funds used to pay my firm were derived from gambling activities."
Oooh! It's funds derived from gambling activities that's a problem! Silly us. We thought it was that whole bribery/quid pro quo thing. Huh. Learn something new every day.
Famous last words of a fool?
Reed said he helped close an illegal casino in Texas and prevented casinos from coming to Alabama. "Many marriages and lives were saved" and "many children were spared the consequences of gambling because of the work I did."
But, he added, "if I had known then what I know now, I would not have done that work."
Yes. If only he had known they would be caught. See ya later, Ralphie. Say hi to Jackie for us, would you?