Mariana Islands, Abramoff and Appropriations

In a 2001 pitch letter obtained by The Washington Post, Abramoff boasted to the then-governor of the commonwealth that his lobbying team had worked with DeLay and other congressional leaders to bottle up reform legislation, stymied the efforts of Republican critics such as former Sen. Frank Murkowski of Alaska and obtained "extra CNMI appropriations" from Congress for infrastructure projects on the islands of Tinian and Rota.

John Sweeney is on the appropriations committee and Sweeney went to CNMI with Abramoff's right hand man. And he took $$$ from Abramoff's firm and from supporters of Abramoff's work there.

Are we the only ones the only one who can smell the coffee here? That quote is from a 6/7/06 article in the WP about the Dem bill to stop the sweatshops and human rights abuses in the CNMI. It goes on:

"For years, DeLay and Abramoff used their power and influence and corrupt practices to defend the indefensible," Miller said in a statement accompanying the introduction of his bill. "The House of Representatives failed to stop extraordinary abuses of poor women guest workers in the textile and tourism industries in the Marianas despite overwhelming evidence documented by the federal government, Congress, the news media and other sources."

He charged that DeLay, the former House majority leader, and Abramoff, a conservative Republican who became one of Washington's top lobbyists, "ignored well-documented threats to American security, criminal activity, violations of labor law, forced abortions and human trafficking" in the Northern Marianas.

"They were running a protection racket," Miller said. "DeLay and Abramoff protected the Marianas garment industry from congressional scrutiny and were rewarded handsomely for it with trips, lucrative contracts, campaign money and more. The most exploited women in the world, and the American legislative process, paid the price."

The real stomach turning comment, from one of the GOP spinners, a DeLay spokesperson, shows that these folks have been so brainwashed they will keep belting out those talking points even after their titanic has sunk:

A spokeswoman for DeLay, Shannon Flaherty, responded in a statement, "It's clearly good news to Democrats that Tom DeLay is leaving the House because they hate free-market values and everyone who defends them. Bad news is, socialists like George Miller still won't win."

MoDo has a twin in Texas, and she works for Tommie boy. I'll be darned.

Quotes from Washington Post Democrats Renew Push for Mariana Labor Bill.