Rep. Kennedy Defends Cash Tied to Abramoff

[sabra]

http://www.leadingthecharge.com/stories/news-00120245.html

Rep. Kennedy Defends Cash Tied to Abramoff


WASHINGTON - Rep. P, , ), citing his support for American Indian causes, says he has no plans to return any of the $42,500 he took from tribes represented by GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Kennedy, D-R.I., was the top congressional Democratic recipient of Abramoff-linked funds, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign watchdog group that analyzed contributions from 1999 to 2005. He was eighth overall among members of Congress.

Kennedy was never lobbied by Abramoff or any of his associates and he did not receive any checks from Abramoff, Richardson said.

While President Bush and other top Republicans scrambled to give away contributions from tribes linked to Abramoff, Kennedy aides said the congressman‘s family, beginning with his late uncle Robert F. Kennedy in the 1960s, has championed American Indian causes.

[displacedtexan]

1. Good for Kennedy!

Stand up to those lying Republican bastards and make sure that CNN has a damned camera pointed at you!

[AtomicKitten]

22. I say he SHOULD dig in his heels ... he did nothing wrong.

from: http://www.leadingthecharge.com/stories/news-00120245.html

Kennedy was never lobbied by Abramoff or any of his associates and he did not receive any checks from Abramoff.

There was no direct connection to Abramoff, although Abramoff represented the tribes.

His reasoning:

While President Bush and other top Republicans scrambled to give away contributions from tribes linked to Abramoff, Kennedy aides said the congressman‘s family, beginning with his late uncle Robert F. Kennedy in the 1960s, has championed American Indian causes.

I say good for him for digging in his heels. He did nothing illegal and he has separated himself from the pack. He didn't accept any cushy golf trips, etc. IMO, this accounts for one Democrat that might have been linked to Abramoff.

[realFedUp]

2. pay now or pay later.

I don't see any upside to keeping funds tied
to either these tribes or Abramoff.

[Pirate Smile]

4. Abramoff gave NO money to Dems.

Abramoff Money and Dems

An earlier post took the NRSC to task for claiming on their website that ""Forty of forty five members of the Democrat Senate Caucus took money from Jack Abramoff."

Not true; Abramoff personally gave money to GOPers only.

NRSC spokesman Brian Nick calls it a typo and correctly points out that other pages on the site add thge words "and associates and tribal clients" when writing of Abramoffian contributions to Dems.

Still, is it really fair to say that "40 of the 45 members of the Senate Democrat Caucus have taken money from Abramoff, his associates, and Indian tribe clients."

Abramoff AND the others? No -- just the others. Not Abramoff.

Abramoff himself did not donate a penny of his personal money to Democrats, so far as we can tell. So it'd be accurate to say that "Abramoff's associates and tribal clients" gave to Dems.

Some of the "Abramoff-related" money linked to Dems comes from Greenberg Traurig's political action committee. Greenberg is a huge bipartisan legal/lobby firm. It regularly gives money to members of both parties.

Abramoff had no hand in the PAC's donation distribution, according to Greenberg. So is Greenberg money really Abramoff money?

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/01/abramoff_money.html

[merwin]

8. What did the tribes do? (Other than get swindled by Abramoff)

[txindy]

11. That's the salient point, right there. The tribes were bilked for millions

But apparently trying to help them without cheating them is now considered a bad thing by some. :eyes:

I agree with you, completely. The tribes were swindled. Kennedy is right to keep the money.

[0007]

17. Absolutely! Kennedy didn't set up any phoney non-profit

organizations. He didn't take any trips to play golf n' lobby for some bull-shit rip off crap. He didn't set up, or was a part of a money laundering scheme, or illegal champaign operations.

Kennedy didn't hustle or scam no one. Kennedy was used. If only to say, ha ha, see, the Democratic leaders were also on take also. Bullshit!!

[sandnsea]

10. The tribes are VICTIMS for chrissake

It's like saying that anybody the Christians in Alabama gave money to are crooks too. They are both victims. The tribes didn't do anything wrong. Abramoff set up all the dealings. The tribes were just paying their lobbyist and donating money, just like all sorts of groups do every single day.

[realFedUp]

12. I still don't see the upside of keeping these monies

while it isn't illegal or immoral to
take legal campaign funds,
being tied to Abramoff, even in a secondary
way in any way will keep that politician's
name in the firestorm.

It's his call, but why go through the extra
work defending your profit in this one.

[merwin]

14. By keeping the money and supporting the tribes he is sticking to his

morals. If he were to give the money back, that would imply that there was something wrong with taking the money in the first place, and would just give the right wing more ammunition.

[txindy]

13. So, drawing out your point a bit farther...

All KKKarl needs to do to choke off money to Democrats is to have a crook (i.e., a repub lobbyist) give a little money to every organization in the country. This way, when the crook goes to prison (given up by KKKarl, himself, perhaps, in a plea deal), every organization he ever contributed to will be tainted - as will, by association, every Democrat to which that org. contributed. As in, if the lobbyist gave a few hundred dollars to, say, the AFL-CIO, then unions will never be able to give a dime to a Democrat again without tainting them, right?

Suh-weeeeeeeeet! KKKarl, you genius! What an economical way to financially choke half the government out of existence.

Ummmm,........ :eyes:

[realFedUp]

23. sure gets rid of Republican lobbyists though....

:-)
I see your point.

[Donkeykick]

3. I like...

the way that Ted is not bashful about comments on this.:applause:

[Wickerman]

5. Because it's tribal money it is tied to Abramoff

:wtf:

The man has no connections with Jack off, no, does it appear, does this money. It appears the MSM is tarring Kennedy just to tarr.

[Gormy Cuss]

6. Well, any Kennedy will do.

Son, father, hell even nephews that are no longer in Congress would do the trick. It's a Democratic name that will stick in people's minds.

[Wickerman]

9. its beautiful, ain't it?

They have been tarring the name Kennedy for so long its 2nd nature.

[OKNancy]

7. Patrick Kennedy has been throughly consistent in his votes and support for

Indian tribes

Don't believe the garbage.


Kennedy has been a friend of the Indian tribes for a long time

-------------------------------

Story from 2004 about speaking to the Native American Caucus and his positions. If you will note, these positions are totally against everything Abramoff and his gang stand for. The article even mentions he is against Hayworth on issues.
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1092142671

Friend to the Indians and Indian Education 1999 - Indian Education Act
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:-FDBWb5rpzcJ:indian ...

1998 Amicus Brief ( friend ) for the Narranganset Tribe
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court= ...

1998 support for Indian gaming
http://www.projo.com/words/stor0303.htm


2002 article http://www.indiancountrynews.com/fullstory.cfm?ID=107
The Grand Traverse Band gave $25,000 this year to the Democratic National Committee. But its political money flows to both sides of the aisle. It also donated up to $2,000 to U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland and fellow GOP Rep. J.D. Hayworth of Arizona.

Prominent Democrats receiving financial support from the band include Reps. Charles Rangel of New York and Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island.

“As Indian tribes we look far more to the individual and their positions than we look to their party affiliation,” said Frank Ettawageshik, chairman of the Petoskey-based Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. “A good deal of the issues for tribes are really nonpartisan issues.”

Ettawageshik said there’s also growing enthusiasm in his tribe for this year’s elections. He said more members are taking part in tribal elections, and their interest is expanding beyond local politics.

Indian gaming rights 1996
http://www.uri.edu/library/special_collections/register ...

Rep. Kennedy pushes for improved health care
The Roseburg News-Review - July 8, 2005

Congressman Kennedy, co-founder of the House Native American Caucus, was invited to speak by the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and the Douglas County Democratic Party.
http://www.cowcreek.com/media/s01_history/a85_20050708_ ...

[Wetzelbill]

15. Kennedy and JD Hayworth are right on this

they basically are the congressional Native American caucus. They are getting money from the tribes that they have consistently worked with and helped with certain rights etc. Those two are in a slightly different position than everybody else in this whole mess. I am no fan of JD Hayworth, by any means, but he and Kennedy work specifically with tribes and are considered big heroes by many Indians. So, they are in a different boat altogether with regards to what kind of donations they get etc.

[Roy]

16. Please...Explain to me how these are Abranoff linked funds????

Kennedy was never lobbied by Abramoff or any of his associates and he did not receive any checks from Abramoff, Richardson said.
:shrug: :shrug:

[txindy]

18. And the tribes who donated to Democrats gave money to Abramoff.

NOT the other way around. So, this money never had anything to do with Abramoff. He took from the tribes. He didn't give.

[Demeter]

19. The Cash WASN'T Tied to Abamoff

Can't these idiots read their own copy?

[brentspeak]

20. In other words

A conman swindles a victim. While that's happening, in a completely unrelated matter, the victim gives a birthday gift to a 3rd party.

So according to the Republican talking dead-in-the-heads, the 3rd party who received the birthday gift is just as bad as the conman who swindled the victim.

Makes sense...NOT.

[gordianot]

21. Also known as guilt by association. Excellent analogy

My stupid piece of shit Repuke brother in law gave my wife a Christmas gift (shades of Bill O'Rielly whom he frequently quotes), the only thing I want to give him in return is a swift kick in the ass. I still detest both repukes, and my brother in law, two for the price of one.

I hope Native American tribes realize that Abramoff, Ney, Scanlon, Delay, Hastert, represent the same brotherhood of stupid white men that has been cheating, oppressing, swindling, and murdering Native Americans for half a millennium.