"As a general rule, when a lobbyist becomes a household name outside Washington it is not a good thing � not for the lobbyist and, most certainly, not for the rest of us.

Jack Abramoff has become the latest example of that rule. He arranged lavish trips for lawmakers � most notably House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas � that mock guidelines limiting such outings to official business. He used his sports arena skyboxes for a kind of network of influence-peddling.

And when not cozying up to powerful lawmakers, he was enriching himself from Native American gambling interests. Abramoff and a colleague collected an estimated $82 million from Indian tribes, some of whom he referred to in internal e-mails as "monkeys" and "idiots." In one instance, he worked both for and against a Texas tribe trying to get approval to reopen a casino."

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Editorial: A lobbyist's excesses make case for reform (USA Today 5/23)

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