Reply #33: Help Dean by Media Blasting - Rec'd a lot of info from this email:

[Trevelyan]

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RAPID RESPONSE: Monday 1/9/06, Jack Abramoff Special

This Abramoff alert is long but it does follow a relatively 'most to least important' path. TheAbramoff issue has many tentacles -- it is amazingly complex and staggering in scope... Thus, it becomes easy for our media (big and small) to take the quick route out offering us news consumers falseequivalencies ("everybody did it") and lots of glossing over ("abramoff-related donations").

It is up to us to keep them honest and call a spade aspade.
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ISSUE: False Equivalency
----------------------------

Here's a piece from Daily Kos on the dangers of how the press is treating the Abramoff story unless we shine the light of truth on this matter:

Abramoff: what's next and how you can help bring down the GOP
by dengre, DailyKos.com Wed Jan 04, 2006 http://tinyurl.com/akc72

Main points from "dengre":

- The GOP will lie. They will cherry pick slices of data to support simple-minded myths like "Everybody Does It" and "Abramoff gave money to Democrats."

- The press will have a very hard time with this story, because the corruption is so one-sided. Their"Balance Bias" will lead them to stupid examples of balance, like treating Harry Reid's legal support from Native American as equivalent to DeLay's $1 Million from the Russians, $500,000 from the Chinese owners of sweatshops and God (and Jack) knows what other bribes.

- The Public will get confused.

SEE ALSO:

The Fast Rise and Steep Fall of Jack Abramoff
By Susan Schmidt and James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Thursday, December 29, 2005
http://tinyurl.com/bytus

(Main points from this comprehensive WaPo article are at the end of this alert.)

** ADDITIONAL RESEARCH **

For those of you with more time to delve into this matter:

What was that about Abramoff giving money to Democrats?
by John in DC AmericaBlog Wednesday, January 04, 2006 http://tinyurl.com/duzeo

Abramoff: The House That Jack Built Think Progress
(details and links to Politicians and right-wing Activists which have received money directly fromAbramoff, his firm or his clients)
http://www.thinkprogress.org/abramoff

The DeLay-Abramoff Money Trail
Nonprofit Group Linked to Lawmaker Was Funded Mostly by Clients of Lobbyist
By R. Jeffrey Smith Washington Post Saturday, December 31, 2005
http://tinyurl.com/9czmm

Corruption and the College Republican
Rolling Stone Magazine Jan 05, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/7jjlh

Hardball's Chris Matthews, FOX's Tony Snow and Britt Hume helped raise money for shady Abramoff charity
by John in DC AmericaBlog
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/add2t

Corruption Inquiry Threatens to Ensnare Lawmakers
By Philip Shenon The New York Times
Sunday 20 November 2005 via http://www.truthout.org

Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer (interview with Gov. Howard Dean)
CNN 1/8/06 http://tinyurl.com/bsyoj