Thursday, February 14, 2008
An Abramoff non-sighting
Post reporter Susan Schmidt writes of a huge lobbying effort taking place on Capitol Hill:
“An unusual effort by several powerful congressmen to clear the way for two Indian casinos in Michigan is fueling a fierce multimillion-dollar lobbying battle of a scale not seen since the fall of Jack Abramoff.
"More than a dozen lobbying firms have joined the fray on both sides, representing Indian tribes, well-connected Michigan developers and the Las Vegas-based gambling company MGM Mirage.” Casino Battle Rages in Congress
But despite the fact that “more than a dozen lobbying firms have joined the fray”, an actual lobbyist is named only twice: the now-in-jail Jack Abramoff (see above) and later…Jack Abramoff. Since the story necessarily focuses on the Democratic pols involved, I’m guessing Ms. Schmidt thought adding in a complete non-factor like Mr. Abramoff would bring some balance to the story.
“An unusual effort by several powerful congressmen to clear the way for two Indian casinos in Michigan is fueling a fierce multimillion-dollar lobbying battle of a scale not seen since the fall of Jack Abramoff.
"More than a dozen lobbying firms have joined the fray on both sides, representing Indian tribes, well-connected Michigan developers and the Las Vegas-based gambling company MGM Mirage.” Casino Battle Rages in Congress
But despite the fact that “more than a dozen lobbying firms have joined the fray”, an actual lobbyist is named only twice: the now-in-jail Jack Abramoff (see above) and later…Jack Abramoff. Since the story necessarily focuses on the Democratic pols involved, I’m guessing Ms. Schmidt thought adding in a complete non-factor like Mr. Abramoff would bring some balance to the story.
