So, I was watching the movie trailer for the upcoming film Casino Jack and the United States of Money and there was Bob:
This was back in happier days for Mr. Abramoff and his good pal Robert Ehrlich–the current lobbyist, former Congressman and former Governor of Maryland. This was back in the day when these two had a close working relationship to elect the first Republican Governor in Maryland since Spiro Agnew. Ehrlich became Governor of Maryland in 2002 when Abramoff was at the height of his power as a lobbyist and Republican fundraiser. This photo could have been shot at one of the many, many fundraisers Abramoff held for Ehrlich or attended to support Ehrlich over the years. When he was in Congress, Ehrlich often helped Jack and Bob’s staff spent time in Jack’s skyboxes and restaurants. Good times.
These two Maryland Republicans were tight, so tight that one of Abramoff’s young business partners grifters, Edward Miller, joined Ehrlich’s Administration. Oddly, each time Abramoff wrote a check to Ehrlich his protege got a promotion. By the time the corrupt Ehrlich Administration was shown the door, Miller was Ehrlich’s Deputy Chief of Staff and this was despite the fact there were reports of Miller talking to the Feds about his role in the Abramoff scandal since 2005.
And waiting in the wings is a whole lot of fun that connects Jack, Ed and Bob to Michael Steele and other scandals about airports, minority contracts and big dollar GOP donors.
So as Ehrlich throws his hat in the ring for a rematch with Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley watch out for the slime spinning off of it. This Abramoff photo is the least of it.
OTOH, I’m sure this photo of Bob and Jack is just more good news for conservatives everywhere.
Cheers
dengre
mai naem
Wow, I never noticed how Abramoff and Grover Norquist look like separated at birth siblings.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
It baffles me to no end how Abramoff has been about the only big wingnut wig to be prosecuted. What about his close amigos in the scams like Norquist and Ralph Reed, amongst others? Maybe he didn’t sing like his plea agreement called for, or maybe at some point we will see more frog marches, if the statute of limitations doesn’t run out first.
Mike in NC
I had recently moved from MD to VA at that time. Bob Ehrlich was an utterly worthless governor, and his lieutenant governor was the equally worthless Michael Steele! That these clowns are still around is proof that shit floats.
Dennis G.
Not only does shit float when it comes to these guys, it also backs up and always returns.
Annie
History to guys like Ehrlich begins today. Another campaign to reinvent…I can’t wait until Ehrlich comes out with a platform that professes family values, limited government, and individual responsibility. The assumptions are that the public has a short memory, will respond only to slogans, and past behavior doesn’t matter unless you are part of the Democratic party. I am not corrupt, I never was corrupt, and I know this because I am telling you this is true…
SiubhanDuinne
Welcome back, Dengre. Havvent seen you in a while.
Dennis G.
SiubhanDuinne
Over the last few week projects for my day job have been taking most of my time. It is good to get some of these done so I can have time for other things.
Cheers
Annie
The true meaning of being “born again.” As of today, I am pure and good. So vote for me…
mclaren
Republican corruption is like Einstein’s relativistic universe: finite but unbounded.
SiubhanDuinne
I had forgotten (or, possibly, never knew) about Michael Steele’s close ties to the Abramoff gang. Not that I’m the tiniest bit surprised, mind you.
morzer
John S. McCain, the former half-term maverick.
Nellcote
What’s up with conservatives and nasty facial hair?
Nellcote
Someone should ask Steele, preferably on video, if he supports Erlich’s rerun for gov.
Mike Kay
Dennis, on a serious note, you should contact the producers/director, tell them who you are (links to your research posts) and ask them to send you a screening copy. I’m sure they would love to have you do some write-ups during the week leading up to the release.
Mike Kay
I guess if Abramoff wasn’t in jail, Hamsher would have asked Jack to join her in accusing RAHM! of corruption. Oh, the irony. She might as well have joined Oliver North in demanding for a congressional investigation.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mike Kay: I’m really glad you suggested that Dengre get in touch with the producers. I hadn’t checked this thread for several hours, but I was thinking along the same lines and wandered back over to make the identical suggestion! So, Dennis G., hope you will check back in and see these messages.
mikeg
Dennisg,
I live in Carroll County (Eldersburg, in fact, … so not some hick farm town with the gun racks in Fords and NRA tattoos.) Yet, everyone I know here — even friends who are
reasonablyintelligent people, are rabid wingnuts who love Bobby Erhlich and long for his return to greatness. They gush over his greatness as governor, his tax-cutting prowess, etc. Do you know of some good info/sites to point to that dispel these myths (e.g., maybe he cut this or that tax, but an increase in DMV and others fees made up for that)? I’ll need ammo in these coming months — BBQ season is heating up, and I’ll need to harness as much Republican Kryponite (i.e., reality and facts) as I can. THANKS.Mike
Original Lee
mikeg: What would be just as good, if not better, would be for the Democrats to put up an attractive, engaged, photogenic, personable candidate as an alternative. Ehrlich won the governorship the first time around because Townsend was swanning around with her Kennedy heritage and not even bothering to compaign. I’m not sure O’Malley has the chops to go head-to-head with Ehrlich, because the campaign will be dueling “what I did as governor” and O’Malley has been governor during this economic mess.
Mako
ha ha. Maryland.
Spiro Agnew. Marvin Mandel.
pto892
Huge problem for the MD Dems is that they are just as much a machine as the other guys, and so they will run Martin O’Malley no matter what. This is why the hapless Kathleen Townsend ran against Ehrlich some years back-she was the pick of the machine and so she was the candidate in spite of the fact a dead fish would have run a better campaign. It would be great if the MD Dems had the foresight to run an alternative but that simply won’t happen. Not that O’Malley inspires me in the slightest, he is as exciting as, well, a dead fish. But at least he isn’t corrupt and he hasn’t made a total mess out of the state. It is amusing how much the Republican mindset can be traced back to a state in which they are a distinct minority-explains quite a bit of the paranoid fashion in which they operate.