Bradford: Abramoff singled out for being a successful lobbyist

Abramoff Scandal

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

"On the heels of Alex Gibney's Casino Jack, actor and Clinton aficionado Kevin Spacey will star in Bagman, a propaganda movie about super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff's life. This film will attempt to amuse the American public with a Hollywood dramatization of the fraud surrounding Abramoff's attempt to purchase a fleet of casino ships in Florida and the ensuing murder of the seller, Greek entrepreneur Gus Boulis.

If the Clintons are the opaque strategists behind the Democratic Party, they used the Abramoff scandal to reclaim Congress for Democrats in the 2006 election, and now that Democratic candidates are losing favor among the American people, the liberals have decided to roll out Abramoff once again in a desperate and transparent effort to retain their seats. The rest of the country has moved on beyond the Abramoff investigation. Why haven't they? Pity the Democrats who can't leave well enough alone.

The Miami Herald, which covered the doomed Florida deal, recently provided a glowing review of Bagman, which reiterated some of the misconceptions surrounding Abramoff.

The article immediately dives into the murder of Boulis, which will be re-enacted in the movie. In an effort to tie Abramoff to the mob through association with a murder in which he had no part, the Herald describes Abramoff as a “fast-talking con man who built a lobbying group that peddled influence in the nation's capital in exchange for fat frees from clients, including casino-rich Indian tribes.”

How did he do that? The Herald offers this explanation: “Abramoff bought influence with campaign contributions, tickets to sporting events, payoffs, lavish golf trips, and free meals and booze at his popular Washington restaurant, Signatures. In return, public officials and their staffs helped Abramoff's clients secure millions of dollars in federal funding and favorable decisions regarding legislation.”

In other words, Abramoff was a practicing lobbyist."

Get the Story:
Susan Bradford: Spacey's Bagman is Just What the Clintons Ordered (The Conservative Camp 6/22)