More Fallout from GOP Lobby Scandal

Despite support from big guns like Zell Miller, Rudy Giuliani, and Sean Hannity,
Georgia Republicans yesterday refused to believe Ralph Reed’s holy baloney, and
denied him a shot at statewide office.
Since leaving the employ of batshit telemarketer Pat Robinson, Reed has made millions
shilling for such Christian causes as Microsoft’s antitrust defense, Enron deregulation efforts, Marianas Islands labor regulations, China’s trade status, TV1, e lottery, and
Jack Abramoff’s tribal gaming clients. All this came home to roost as Georgia
State Senator Casey Cagle wired Abramoff around Reed’s neck like a dead
chicken around a bad dog.
One story I hadn’t heard about was the Black Churches Insurance Program turned up by the Texas Observer. Called Charity Elder Program2 in Reed/Abramoff email traffic,it is styled after Abramoff’s Tigua Elder Legacy Project, a scheme to take out nonqualified deferred compensation, or “dead peasant policies” on elderly clients who couldn’t otherwise afford his exorbitant fees. Reed apparently suffers from amnesia on this subject, as he does about laundering gambling money through Grover Norquist to disguise it’s tainted origins.