The Morality Party
Jan 30th, 2006 at 9:34 am by Susie
Doug Thompson at Capitol Hill Blue:
Abramoff was a product of a determined GOP effort to put more lobbyists on K Street, the stretch of Washington real estate that is home to many of the rich and powerful sellers of influence. That was former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s job and DeLay is as crooked as Abramoff.
“Fuck the law,� Delay told me in a meeting in 1990. “I don’t give a rat’s ass about the law.� I met with Delay through my role as Vice President for Political Programs for the National Association of Realtors. DeLay wanted us to hire more Republicans.
When I told Delay that I didn’t care whether the folks I hired were Republican or Democrat as long as they did the job, he got mad.
“Listen you cocksucker,� he said, his eyes narrowing. “I’m tired of mealy-mouthed assholes like you kowtowing to the Democrats. We’re keeping a list and you’re on it. Either start supporting Republicans or you’ll find yourself out in the cold.�
I kept good notes on that meeting so I could report back to my boss, Realtor chief lobbyist Stephen Driesler, who laughed and shook his head.
“Yeah, that’s Tom,� he said, “but we have to listen to him because he will be a power someday.�
