I posted this yesterday, and I know the New York times has a good editor, so please read and discover the real and damaging Casino Gate
"...For McCain-connected lobbyists who were rivals of Mr. Abramoff, the scandal presented a chance to crush a competitor...
On September 27th, 2008 the New York Times published a story by Jo Becker & Don Van Natta.
The article gets buried under the Presidential Debate frenzy and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
A story that finds an angry old man gambling alongside lobbyists after he lost an ugly primary campaign in the year 2000.
"In a room reserved for high-stakes gamblers at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, he tossed $100 chips around a hot craps table."
It get's better after this break...
"The visit had been arranged by the lobbyist, Scott Reed, who works for the Mashantucket Pequot, a tribe that has contributed heavily to Mr. McCain’s campaigns and built Foxwoods into the world’s second-largest casino."
A story that would touch the lives of many people, icluding Joe Lieberman, a Senator from Connecticut where the great Foxwoods Resort is located.
Here's the link to the NYT story
"... McCain has done more than any other member of Congress to shape the laws governing America’s casinos, helping to transform the once-sleepy Indian gambling business into a $26-billion-a-year behemoth..."
"Congress threatened a California tribe’s planned casino in 2005, Mr. McCain helped spare the tribe. Its lobbyist, who had no prior experience in the gambling industry, had a nearly 20-year friendship with Mr. McCain."
" "I’ve fought lobbyists who stole from Indian tribes," the senator said in his speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination this month. "
" But interviews and records show that lobbyists and political operatives in Mr. McCain’s inner circle played a behind-the-scenes role in bringing Mr. Abramoff’s misdeeds to Mr. McCain’s attention — and then cashed in on the resulting investigation."
" He also voted twice in the last decade to give casinos tax breaks estimated to cost the government more than $326 million over a dozen years. "
"...Mr. McCain helped uncover a breathtaking lobbying scandal — Mr. Abramoff and a partner bilked six tribes of $66 million...
...For McCain-connected lobbyists who were rivals of Mr. Abramoff, the scandal presented a chance to crush a competitor...
"... Ralph Reed, the former director of the Christian Coalition, ran a blistering campaign questioning Mr. McCain’s conservative credentials. The senator and his advisers blamed that attack for Mr. McCain’s loss to Mr. Bush in South Carolina, creating tensions that would resurface in the Abramoff matter."
"... Fletcher said he began passing information to John Weaver, Mr. McCain’s chief political strategist, and other staff members in late 2003 or January 2004. Mr. Weaver confirmed the timing.
Mr. McCain announced his investigation on Feb. 26, 2004, citing an article on Mr. Abramoff in The Washington Post. He did not mention the action by lobbyists and tribes in the preceding weeks. His campaign said no one in his "innermost circle" brought information to Mr. McCain that prompted the investigation."
" ... the firm’s managing partner, defended their team’s work, saying they successfully steered the tribe through a difficult period. "We did an outstanding job for them," Mr. Hance said. "When we told them our bill was going to be $100,000 a month, they thought we were cheap. Mr. Abramoff had charged them $1 million a month." "
"... a small tribe in Connecticut set off a political battle. The group, the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, had won federal recognition in 2004 after producing voluminous documentation tracing its roots.
The tribe wanted to build Connecticut’s third casino, which would compete with Foxwoods and another, the Mohegan Sun. Facing public opposition on the proposed casino, members of the Connecticut political establishment..."
"...the Washington lobbying firm Barbour Griffith & Rogers, turned to Mr. McCain’s committee. It was a full-circle moment for the senator, who had helped the Pequots gain tribal recognition in the 1980s despite concerns about their legitimacy.
Now, Mr. McCain was doing a favor for allies in the Connecticut delegation, including Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, a close friend,..."
"...Chief Richard F. Velky of the Schaghticokes found himself facing off against the governor and most of the state’s congressional delegation. "The deck was stacked against us," Mr. Velky said. "They were given lots of time. I was given five minutes."
He had always believed Mr. McCain "to be an honest and fair man," Mr. Velky said, "but this didn’t make me feel that good.""
Forgive me about all the block quotes, I'm just doing the highlighting, the credit goes to Jo Becker & Don Van Natta, their 6 page article is here.
Don't you just love The Gray Lady !