January 11, 2006

Ford Backfire

As I mentioned on Monday, Harold Ford Junior had a bit of a "foot in mouth" moment when he demanded that the Republicans in the U.S. Senate race in Tennessee return any money that they may have received from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Unfortunately for Junior, he received some money himself...which I wouldn't really have considered an issue since there were plenty of Senators and Representatives that have received money from "Team Abramhoff," but Junior had to make it an issue in the Senate race. So be it.

Today Clint Brewer of the Lebanon Democrat took Junior to task over the issue.

Head over and read it. If the link doesn't take you directly to the article, click on the extended entry portion of this post to see the entire article.

Ford Backfire: Senate campaign bungles scandal By CLINT BREWER January 11, 2006

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Democratic Congressman Harold Ford Jr.’s campaign for the U.S. Senate may have unwittingly given away the moral high ground on the biggest scandal to rock the GOP nationally in years.

The Ford campaign continued to see attacks Tuesday from GOP Senate candidate Bob Corker and later the National Republican Senatorial Committee over Ford campaign contributions Republicans insist are tied to corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s former law firm.

The firm – Greenberg Traurig – was prominently in the news again Tuesday in connection with the Abramoff scandal involving former GOP House Majority Leader Tom Delay and an attempt to pressure an Indian tribe to close a casino.
The Associated Press reported late Tuesday Delay attempted to pressure the Bush administration to close the Alabama-Coushatta tribe’s casino shortly after a competing tribe and client of Abramoff’s made a contribution to a Delay-run political action committee.

The Greenberg Traurig law firm – Abramoff’s former employer – has been hit with a demand letter to return $50,000 to the Alabama-Coushatta tribe taken by an Abramoff run charity ostensibly to finance a golf trip for Congressmen who were going to help the tribe keep the casino.

Ford’s campaign committees have accepted almost $4,000 from Greenberg Traurig attorneys over the years. The contributions would not matter so much if Ford had not challenged the GOP field to return campaign money from Abramoff and his associates before Ford’s own donations became public.

“The records show a Ford donor is a documented member of ‘Team Abramoff,’” an NRSC release screamed Tuesday.

“Congressman Ford should finally do what he asked others to do last week – fully disclose what Jack Abramoff and his associates gave him over the years and donate that money to charity immediately,” Corker campaign manager Ben Mitchell said.

Ford spokesperson Carol Andrews continued the campaign’s stance of refusing to accept the premise of the attack – that the contributions from Greenberg Traurig were tied somehow to Abramoff.

“Congressman Ford has not taken any of the corrupt Abramoff money,” Andrews said in a written statement. “For anyone to insinuate otherwise is dishonest.”

Despite the denials, Ford’s campaign because of the candidate’s “challenge” to the GOP field on the Abramoff funds is going to have a hard time using the election year GOP scandal to its advantage without bringing up its own Abramoff baggage. Ford supporters should be particularly dismayed as GOP primary candidate in the Senate race Van Hilleary has to account for thousands in much more direct Abramoff contributions.

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