Good quotes from the movie:
+ Jack Abramoff was the “perfect marriage of idealism and corruption.”
+ “Campaign finance is a system of legalized bribery.” What also comes to mind is Danny Schecter saying “I used to think of Wall Street as a financial center, now I think of it as a crime scene.”
One interesting part of the movie mentioned a court order that was issued just to force the Bush administration to hand over copies of photos of Bush & Abramoff in Malaysia. Video clips of George W Bush show him lying about not knowing Jack Abramoff.
Conclusion:
Corruption has become normal in Washington DC politics. Parasitic behavior of lobbyists such a Abramoff (despite him being “one of a kind” as far as his deceptive charismatic mastery was concerned) are the result of relationships with “willing hosts,” politicians open to bribery and betrayl of public service, perpetually seeking more money and more power.
On an interesting note, this documentary has a segment on the Mariana Islands when they were a loophole for textile manufacturers. Abramoff had links to their government and industry and became a bridge between them and US politicians willing to deny inhumane treatment of workers. The day I saw this documentary (May 7) I received a text message from the twitter feed of the Government Accountability Office mentioning the Mariana Islands immigration issue.
Related:
- 37 current congressional candidates received financial gains from Abramoff (Aug 17, 2010)
- Wayne Madsen Report search results for Jack Abramoff
- SourceWatch.org page on Jack Abramoff
- FollowtheMoney.org
- MapLight.org
- Out Of Prison, Jack Abramoff Works At Pizzeria in Baltimore (June 23, 2010)
