'Casino Jack' now advises reform

[mmonk]

If you want learn how to protect a bank, you ask a famous bank robber like Willie Sutton. If you want to know how to clean up Washington, you ask Jack Abramoff.

-snip-

He would impose term limits, because the power of incumbency is worth millions of dollars. Term limits would level the playing field and lessen the need for money.

He would permanently bar members of Congress or congressional staffers from going to work as lobbyists - closing the revolving door. He said temporary bans are meaningless, because former congressmen join lobbying firms, then call their former congressional colleagues and tell them that while they can't personally lobby, members of their firm will be stopping by.

"Frankly, a lot of that goes on their whole careers," Abramoff said. "They don't call themselves lobbyists. They call themselves strategic advisers or history professors or whatever."

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/02/12/1848426/casino-jacks-advice.html#storylink=cpy

[Ian David]

1. He also says he refuses to blow the whistle and send anyone else to jail. n/t

[mmonk]

2. There isn't a law requiring self incrimination.

They may be able to point out more things against him most likely.

[Ian David]

4. He says it's because prison was so horrible, he couldn't make anyone else go to jail. n/t

[sofa king]

8. He already blew the whistle on everyone.

I believe he spent more time going to an office at the DoJ and in theory writing out his "confession" for the Bush Administration than he wound up spending in prison.

Since then, no details of what Abramoff wrote have ever been released. In fact, there is little to no indication that Abramoff actually wrote anything, and it seems just as likely that he was playing Farmville and guarding his Wikipedia entry.

As I have said before, Jack is emulating the success of his protection-racket friend, Grover Norquist. Jack's going to make his money by telling people with lots of money, "guess what I know?" And they will pay him well to shut up.

[mmonk]

9. But did he on everything?

[sofa king]

10. Nope.

As I said, while he was supposed to blow the whistle, and may well have, the Bush Administration tucked away absolutely everything Abramoff reported so deep that nobody knows what, if anything, he disclosed.

Not one conviction resulted from Abramoff's "work." Some of the crimes in which Abramoff is implicated, like the murder of Gus Boulis, from which Abramoff's crew profited handsomely, has no statute of limitations.

Now he's attempting to profit from that by setting up a fake "whistle-blower" operation that is really an extortion and blackmail racket directed entirely against his former (Republican) associates. Jack knows where the bodies are buried, and has already done his time for most of it, unlike all but two of his co-conspirators.

So their asses are hanging in the breeze, and his isn't.

In other words, Jack is now perfectly positioned to profit from the Bush Administration cover-up, and because what he has in theory already disclosed effectively functions as a dead-man's switch should someone try to take him out, it's going to be very difficult for the Republicans to prevent him from running a Norquist-style operation against the GOP for decades to come.

Because Jack Abramoff is the gift that keeps on taking.

[mmonk]

11. Oh yeah, I forgot about Boulis.

[sofa king]

12. Yep, and everyone forgot about this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=125x121713

Jack's gonna be just fine, see?

[mmonk]

13. Or never knew.

[russspeakeasy]

3. I read the book. Keep some soap and water nearby.

You will want to wash your hands frequently.

[mmonk]

5. Describe further.

I don't have any current plans to read it but would like to know.

[russspeakeasy]

6. Not surprisingly, both sides of the aisle were/are on the take.

He talks about "not being able to buy you a meal, but I can buy you a restaurant."
Dorgan, the great crusader, "was eager to accept my $75,000 check.
John Mccain was eager to get my money and then was beating the drum to put me in prison.
Everything, politicians, bills, offices were/are for sale.
"We put 4 words into a gambling bill at the last minute that completely changed the bill to favor our side".
Most of the shit was stuff you and others already know, but it's nice to see the names attached.
He makes some good points, but until money is taken out of politics they don't have a chance of being implemented.

You don't run for an office, you run for all the benefits bestowed on you after you are in and then out of office.

[mmonk]

7. I'm not surprised.