Bob Schaffer Endorsed Abramoff Ally
The Bob Schaffer - Jack Abramoff scandal marches on. Bob Schaffer himself is refusing to talk to reporters about this issue, which pretty much confirms that Republicans only like the press when they’re parroting right-wing talking points. Investigative journalism? That’s the librul media attacking them, doing “character assassinations” (according to Schaffer’s campaign manager Dick Wadhams) and the like. Umm, Dick: Bob Schaffer started the ball rolling on this one. If you don’t want to defend his unethical, corrupt conduct, I would recommend Schaffer re-adopt his silence policy.
As the Post article notes, Schaffer twice endorsed Benigno Fitial in ads while Fitial was running for House speaker of the Mariana Legislature and later as governor of the islands. Once elected as speaker, Fitial pushed to renew the lapsed contract of since disgraced Jack Abramoff’s law firm. In Nov. 1999, Schaffer praised Fitial’s commitment to “an economic agenda of growth” and the relationship he nurtured with the U.S. Congress. Not surprisingly, Fitial responded by donating $2,000 to Schaffer’s primary Senate campaign in 2004.
We know Bob Schaffer has been too cowardly to stand up to the pressure so far. But what about his campaign staff? They’re busy trying to distract their supporters from the issues at hand. “It was just one law firm, Schaffer didn’t know Abramoff directly” (how about indirectly?). “Schaffer wasn’t aware Abramoff even existed”. This one will be fun: is Schaffer unacceptably ignorant or is Wadhams lying? “Harry Reid took money from Abramoff.” This isn’t about Harry Reid and Jack Abramoff, which has been extensively debunked anyway.
This is about Bob Schaffer and Jack Abramoff, a relationship that hasn’t been examined before now. This is about Bob Schaffer, who is running for the U.S. Senate. If his judgment is poor, the people of Colorado deserve to know that. Pointing to something as ridiculous as a “Big Blue Lie Machine” isn’t going to cut it. Conservatives might buy into that talking point, but the people Schaffer is going to need to convince in this election, registered independents, are smart enough to want something more solid than conspiracy references.
It seems to me that the Post reporter likely has more information. If he doesn’t, I’m definitely getting the sense that other intrepid folk do and will soon divulge it. I wouldn’t mind seeing a steady stream of Schaffer corruption material coming out. Republicans lost power in 2006 for a reason: their Culture of Corruption turned independents away from them. Coloradans won’t want to send someone back to Congress that was deeply mired in that morass. We can instead choose to elect a responsible adult: Mark Udall.
