Atlanta J-C: Reed's fees all paid by casino

[JohnnyCougar]

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/1105/02reed.html

Looks like the Journal-Constitution got the scoop on this. Also, they mention, although at the end of the article, the "wacko" comments made by DeLay's aide Scanlon.

WASHINGTON — Ralph Reed's anti-gambling work in Texas and Louisiana was funded by an Indian tribe that derives all of its income from a single casino, according to U.S. Senate testimony Wednesday.

Reed, the former Christian Coalition leader who is running for lieutenant governor of Georgia, is an avowed opponent of legalized gambling. He has said he never knowingly accepted gambling money.

But Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who hired Reed to manage the campaign, made it clear to Reed that he was working for the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, according to a Feb. 11, 2002, e-mail released after the hearing.

<SNIP>

In an e-mail sent to Kathryn Van Hoof, a former outside lawyer for the Coushatta tribe, Abramoff's partner, Michael Scanlon, boiled down Reed's importance to the project: "Simply put, we want to bring out the wackos to vote against something and make sure the rest of the public lets the whole thing slip past them. The wackos get their information the Christian right, Christian radio, e-mail, the Internet and telephone trees," Scanlon wrote.

More can be learned about these memos, and how to contact Christian talk radio about this here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/11/3/21544/6648

and here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5260863