Matthews Plays Abramoff Card To Claim GOP More Corrupt Than Dems

Photo of Mark Finkelstein.
By Mark Finkelstein | March 4, 2008 - 22:03 ET

Touchy, touchy, Chris!

Palpably stung by Ken Blackwell's observation that Republicans had lost their way by running like Reagan but governing like Carter, Chris Matthews -- former speechwriter to the president from Plains -- cracked back by playing the Abramoff card and claiming Republicans are more corrupt than Dems.

Blackwell, the impressive former Secretary of State of Ohio and past candidate for Buckeye state governor, was Matthews' guest during this evening's MSNBC election coverage. Blackwell was discussing what it would take for Republicans to win in 2008.

KEN BLACKWELL: My view is this, Chris, that we got off track. We started to campaign like Ronald Reagan and at times govern like Jimmy Carter. And as a consequence, people, people really questioned whether or not we were true to our message . . .
Ken's comment clearly cut Chris to the quick. He tried to parry.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: I just don't think Jack Abramoff worked for the Carter administration, Ken, did he?
View video here.
BLACKWELL: We have some stories we can trade about corruption on the Democratic side.

MATTHEWS: I don't think corruption is an equal-opportunity employer.

Comments Policy

All comments are owned by whoever posted them and are subject to our terms of use. They should not be assumed to represent the views of NewsBusters.

Viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

"CHRIS MATTHEWS: I just

"CHRIS MATTHEWS: I just don't think Jack Abramoff worked for the Carter administration, Ken, did he?"

Tony Rezco didn't either, did he Chris?

Hear no evil, see no evil........

Isn’t that cute? Chris thinks that just because they refuse
to report democrat scandals or disclose party affiliation when it’s a democrat scandal
that they don’t happen. It’s simply amazing to watch these people operate as if
their horrible reporting is actually reality.

Why bring up Rezco . . .

when Abramoff was an equal opportunity scoundrel. Here's a tie between Ambramoff and Harry Reid, Democrat from Nevada that clearly shows indluence peddling.

Oops! Byron Dorgan, Max Baucus, Peter DeFazio, Patty Murra, Tom Harkin & Hillary Clinton all took money from Abramoff. Some of it is probably innocent campaign contributions, but Chris Matthews would never investigate because he is convince that Democrats = Purity of Motive.

Chris' convenient memory lapse...

...must be the result of a very severe case of selective amnesia; to even IMPLY that the Democrats are not equal opportunity corruptors....is utterly insane.

I wonder what independent counsel, Mr. David Barrett would have to say about Chris' comment....what's that you ask? You haven't read the Barrett report yet? Oh that's right, we may never have the opportunity to do so because the Dems in congress conveniently and corruptly (I might add) have prevented the 400-page report from being released to the public. The very same "tax-paying" public who funded the investigation that the report chronicles.

We see equal opportunity corruption all right; only the MSM and its enablers are surely not equal in their coverage of same. Which, in my humble opinion, is tantamount to the aiding and abetting of those same corruptors.

http://www.jewishwor...

Keep giving him space! He

Keep giving him space! He gets more coverage at newsbusters than on his show. Stop quoting him and undermanned and they will go away.

I am quite personally sick of seeing him get the type of  publicity he cannot imagine at msnbc

 

 

Sorry, but NB's stated

Sorry, but NB's stated mission is "exposing" and combatting liberal bias. Hard to expose him if we don't quote him!

delete

delete

If a tree falls in  the

If a tree falls in  the woods and no one is there to hear it.....

If a man speaks........

........and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?

Lets blame the media

Absolutely!

LOL

MATTHEWS: I don't think (a true statement if ever I heard one)

"MATTHEWS: I don't think corruption is an equal-opportunity employer."

Oh yes it is. Aparently Matthews has been reading the MSM news, you know, where they leave out all references of the word 'Democrat' in those articles they need to publish. He assumes that lack of articles on corrupt Democrats means Republicans are more corrupt. Maybe he is getting his news from Olbermann.

 

"Forget change, I want improvement!"

Maybe there's another word . . .

Maybe there's another word for Democrat corruption in Chris Matthew's lexicon.

What is the Klingon word for corruption?

CORRUPTION...

 How about bribery, electoral fraud, racketeering, extortion, cronyism, & protection rackets? All of which qualify as corruption in my book. Look at almost any big city where the Dems have run it into the ground, & you will find these things.

 

 

"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise"  Mark Levin

Corruption is only an

Corruption is only an equal-opportunity employer when a Democrat gets caught. Then the MSM will describe it as a "bipartisan" problem, and by hook or by crook, will dredge up some Republican, even if it's from 3 years ago, or even if they have to mention that "questions" about a Republican's dealings were raised (even if it amounted to nothing). Anything to make it seem like "everybody does it." However, when a Republican is accused of something shady, there won't be any mention of Democrats ever having had any similar problems.

TE

CHRIS MATTHEWS: "I just don't think Jack Abramoff worked for the Carter administration, Ken, did he?"

Is Matthews alleging that Jack Abramoff "worked" for the Bush administration?  A couple of years ago, Matthews alleged that Paul Wolfowitz cooked up a conspiracy in the bowels of the Pentagon to funnel a dog collar to Lyndie England in Iraq, with an order to place said dog collar around the neck of an Iraq prisoner.  The poor fool is as big a leftist kook and conspiracy theorist as Keith Olbermoronn.

No Chris, Abramoff didn't

No Chris, Abramoff didn't work for Carter...but Burt Lance did. I'm sure you'd rather forget about him though.

Riady WH vists outnumbered Abramoff visits

James Riady white house vists outnumbered Abramoff visits. I'll have to go out on a limb on that statement, as I really don't know how many times Jack Abramoff was in the Bush White House. On the other hand, I'm quite sure that I saw that same  lone picture of Abramoff in the White House a few hundred times - probably dozens of times each in many major media outlets.

For comparison, Bill Clinton's old friend and associate, James Riady (stuck with the largest fine in US history, $8.6 million, for violating Federal election laws and defrauding the government and conspiracy) was in the Clinton white house "at least 15 to 20 times over the last four years." That's according to a Nov. 5, 1996 WaPost piece.  

And how many times did the MSM show the public those pictures of Riady in working sessions in the White House with President Clinton in attendence? Sure seems a bit more corrupt than standing in a greeting line to meet the president, does it not?

Perhaps I'm just overlooking the obvious, and the problem is that Bush told Abramoff on the first visit that he didn't want to do business, while Clinton just put Riady to work - I'd call that being an "equal-opportunity employer." "You're a crook - you're hired."

 

How do you quantify the

How do you quantify the corruption of someone that was never convicted himself, but managed to turn back on the streets hundreds of tried and convicted criminals?  Who do you ask, am I talking about?  Why Clintoon, of course.

I wonder if slimball considers the below named "citizens" dimocrats:

Pardon Grants January 2001

Name
Home Town
Offenses

ALLEN, Verla Jean
Everton, Arkansas
False statements to agency of United States

ALTIERE, Nicholas M.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Importation of cocaine

ALTSCHUL, Bernice Ruth
Sherman Village, California
Conspiracy to commit money laundering

ANDERSON, Joe, Jr.
Grove Hill, Alabama
Income tax evasion

ANDERSON, William Sterling
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Conspiracy to defraud a federally insured financial institution, false statements to a federally insured financial institution, wire fraud

AZIZKHANI, Mansour T.
Huntsville, Alabama
Conspiracy and making false statements in bank loan applications

BABIN, Cleveland Victor, Jr.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Conspiracy to commit offense against the United States by utilizing the U.S. mail in furtherance of a scheme to defraud

BAGLEY, Chris Harmon
Harrah, Oklahoma
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine

BANE, Scott Lynn
Mahomet, Illinois
Unlawful distribution of marijuana

BARBER, Thomas Cleveland
Hampton, Florida
Issuing worthless checks

BARGON, Peggy Ann
Monticello, Illinois
Violation of the Lacey Act, violation of the Bald Eagle Protection Act

BHATKA, Tansukhlal
 
Income tax evasion

BLAMPIED, David Roscoe
Ketchum, Idaho
Conspiracy to distribute cocaine

BORDERS, William Arthur, Jr.
Washington, D.C.
Conspiracy to corruptly solicit and accept money in return for influencing the official acts of a federal district court judge (Alcee L. Hastings), and to defraud the United States in connection with the performance of lawful government functions; corruptly influencing, obstructing, impeding and endeavoring to influence, obstruct and impede the due administration of justice, and aiding and abetting therein; traveling interstate with intent to commit bribery

BOREL, Arthur David
Little Rock, Arkansas
Odometer rollback

BOREL, Douglas Charles
Conway, Arkansas
Odometer rollback

BRABHAM, George Thomas
Austin, Texas
Making a false statement or report to a federally insured bank

BRASWELL, Almon Glenn
Doravilla, Georgia
Conspiracy to defraud government with respect to claims; perjury

BROWDER, Leonard
Aiken, South Carolina
Illegal dispensing of controlled substance and Medicaid fraud

BROWN, David Steven
New York, New York
Securities fraud and mail fraud

BURLESON, Delores Caroylene, aka Delores Cox Burleson
Hanna, Oklahoma
Possession of marijuana

BUSTAMANTE, John H.
Cleveland, Ohio
Wire fraud

CAMPBELL, Mary Louise
Ruleville, Mississippi
Aiding and abetting the unauthorized use and transfer of food stamps

CANDELARIA, Eloida
 
False information in registering to vote

CAPILI, Dennis Sobrevinas
Glendale, California
Filing false statements in alien registration

CHAMBERS, Donna Denise
Memphis, Tennessee
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, use of a telephone to facilitate cocaine conspiracy

CHAPMAN, Douglas Eugene
Scott, Arkansas
Bank fraud

CHAPMAN, Ronald Keith
Scott, Arkansas
Bank fraud

CHAVEZ, Francisco Larios
Santa Ana, California
Aiding and abetting illegal entry of aliens

CISNEROS, Henry G.
 
 

CLINTON, Roger
 
 

COHN, Stuart Harris
New Haven, Connecticut
1. Illegal sale of gold options

2. Illegal sale of silver options

COOPER, David Marc
Wapakoneta, Ohio
Conspiracy to defraud the government

COX, Ernest Harley, Jr.
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Conspiracy to defraud a federally insured savings and loan, misapplication of bank funds, false statements

CROSS, John F., Jr.
Little Rock, Arkansas
Embezzlement by a bank employee

CUNNINGHAM, Rickey Lee
Amarillo, Texas
Possession with intent to distribute marijuana

DE LABIO, Richard Anthony
Baltimore, Maryland
Mail fraud, aiding and abetting

DEUTCH, John
 
Described in January 19, 2001 information

DOUGLAS, Richard
 
False statements

DOWNE, Edward Reynolds
 
Conspiracy to commit wire fraud and tax evasion; securities fraud

DUDLEY, Marvin Dean
Omaha, Nebraska
False statements

DUNCAN, Larry Lee
Branson, Missouri
Altering an automobile odometer

FAIN, Robert Clinton
 
Aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false corporate tax return

FERNANDEZ, Marcos Arcenio
Miami, Florida
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana

FERROUILLET, Alvarez
 
Interstate transport of stolen property, money laundering, false statements

FUGAZY, William Denis
Harrison, New York
Perjury in a bankruptcy proceeding

GEORGE, Lloyd Reid
 
Mail fraud

GOLDSTEIN, Louis
Las Vegas, Nevada
Possession of goods stolen from interstate shipment

GORDON, Rubye Lee
Tampa, Florida
Forgery of U.S. Treasury checks

GREEN, Pincus
Switzerland
 

HAMNER, Robert Ivey
Searcy, Arkansas
Conspiracy to distribute marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute

HANDLEY, Samuel Price
Hodgenville, Kentucky
Conspiracy to steal government property

HANDLEY, Woodie Randolph
Hodgenville, Kentucky
Conspiracy to steal government property

HARMON, Jay Houston
Jonesboro, Arkansas
1. Conspiracy to import marijuana, conspiracy to possess marijuana with intent to distribute, importation of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute

 

2. Conspiracy to import cocaine

HEMMINGSON, John
 
Interstate transport of stolen property, money laundering

HERDLINGER, David S.
St. Simons Island, Georgia
Mail fraud

HUCKLEBERRY, Debi Rae
Ogden, Utah
Distribution of methamphetamine

JAMES, Donald Ray
Fairfield Bay, Arkansas
Mail fraud, wire fraud, and false statement to a bank to influence credit approval

JOBE, Stanley Pruet
El Paso, Texas
Conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and bank fraud

JOHNSON, Ruben H.
Austin, Texas
Theft and misapplication of bank funds by a bank officer or director

JONES, Linda
 
Conspiracy to commit bank fraud and other offenses against the United States

LAKE, James Howard
 
Illegal corporate campaign contributions, wire fraud

LEWIS, June Louise
Lowellville, Ohio
Embezzlement by a bank employee

LEWIS, Salim Bonnor
Short Hills, New Jersey
Securities fraud, record keeping violations, margin violations

LODWICK, John Leighton
Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Income tax evasion

LOPEZ, Hildebrando
San Isidro, Texas
Distribution of cocaine

LUACES, Jose Julio
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Possession of an unregistered firearm

MANESS, James Timothy
 
Conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance

MANNING, James Lowell
Little Rock, Arkansas
Aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false corporate tax return

MARTIN, John Robert
Gulf Breeze, Florida
Income tax evasion

MARTINEZ, Frank Ayala
Elgin, Texas
Conspiracy to supply false documents to the Immigration and Naturalization Service

MARTINEZ, Silvia Leticia Beltran
Elgin, Texas
Conspiracy to supply false documents to the Immigration and Naturalization Service

McCORMICK, John Francis
Dedham, Massachusetts
Racketeering conspiracy, racketeering, and violation of the Hobbs act

McDOUGAL, Susan H.
 
 

MECHANIC, Howard Lawrence
 
1. Violating the Civil Disobedience Act of 1968

 

2. Failure to appear

3. Making false statement in acquiring a passport

MITCHELL, Brook K., Sr.
 
Conspiracy to illegally obtain USDA subsidy payments, false statements to USDA, and false entries on USDA forms

MORGAN, Charles Wilfred, III
Little Rock, Arkansas
Conspiracy to distribute cocaine

MORISON, Samuel Loring
Crofton, Maryland
Willful transmission of defense information, unauthorized possession and retention of defense information, theft of government property

NAZZARO, Richard Anthony
Winchester, Massachusetts
Perjury and conspiracy to commit mail fraud

NOSENKO, Charlene Ann
Phoenix, Arizona
Conspiracy to defraud the United States, and influencing or injuring an officer or juror generally

OBERMEIER, Vernon Raymond
Belleville, Illinois
Conspiracy to distribute cocaine, distribution of cocaine, and using a communications facility to facilitate distribution of cocaine

OGALDE, Miguelina
Glendale, California
Conspiracy to import cocaine

OWEN, David C.
Olathe, Kansas
Filing a false tax return

PALMER, Robert W.
Little Rock, Arkansas
Conspiracy to make false statements

PERHOSKY, Kelli Anne
Bridgeville, Pennsylvania
Conspiracy to commit mail fraud

PEZZOPANE, Richard H.
Palo Heights, Illinois
Conspiracy to commit racketeering, and mail fraud

PHILLIPS, Orville Rex
Waco, Texas
Unlawful structure of a financial transaction

POLING, Vinson Stewart, Jr.
Baldwin, Maryland
Making a false bank entry, and aiding and abetting

PROUSE, Norman Lyle
Conyers, Georgia
Operating or directing the operation of a common carrier while under the influence of alcohol

PRUITT, Willie H. H., Jr.
Port Richey, Florida
Absent without official leave

PURSLEY, Danny Martin, Sr.
Goodlettsville, Tennessee
Aiding and abetting the conduct of an illegal gambling business, and obstruction of state laws to facilitate illegal gambling

RAVENEL, Charles D.
Charleston, South Carolina
Conspiracy to defraud the United States

RAY, William Clyde
Altus, Oklahoma
Fraud using a telephone

REGALADO, Alfredo Luna
Pharr, Texas
Failure to report the transportation of currency in excess of $10,000 into the United States

RICAFORT, Ildefonso Reynes
Houston, Texas
Submission of false claims to Veterans Administration

RICH, Marc
Switzerland
 

RIDDLE, Howard Winfield
Mt. Crested Butte, Colorado
Violation of the Lacey Act (receipt of illegally imported animal skins)

RILEY, Richard Wilson, Jr.
 
Possession of cocaine with intent to distribute

ROBBINS, Samuel Lee
Cedar Park, Texas
Misprision of a felony

RODRIGUEZ, Joel Gonzales
Houston, Texas
Theft of mail by a postal employee

ROGERS, Michael James
McAllen, Texas
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana

ROSS, Anna Louise
Lubbock, Texas
Distribution of cocaine

RUST, Gerald Glen
Avery, Texas
False declarations before grand jury

RUST, Jerri Ann
Avery, Texas
False declarations before grand jury

RUTHERFORD, Bettye June
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute

SANDS, Gregory Lee
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Conspiracy to distribute cocaine

SCHWIMMER, Adolph
 
Conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, conspiracy to export arms and ammunition to a foreign country and related charges

SERETTI, Albert A., Jr.
McKees Rocks, Pennyslvania
Conspiracy and wire fraud

SHAW, Patricia Campbell Hearst
Wilton, Connecticut
Armed bank robbery and using a firearm during a felony

SMITH, Dennis Joseph
Redby, Minnesota
1. Unauthorized absence

 

2. Failure to obey off-limits instructions

3. Unauthorized absence

SMITH, Gerald Owen
Florence, Mississippi
Armed bank robbery

SMITH, Stephen A.
 
 

SPEAKE, Jimmie Lee
Breckenridge, Texas
Conspiracy to possess and utter counterfeit $20 Federal Reserve notes

STEWART, Charles Bernard
Sparta, Georgia
Illegally destroying U.S. Mail

STEWART-ROLLINS, Marlena Francisca
Euclid, Ohio
Conspiracy to distribute cocaine

SYMINGTON, John Fife, III
 
 

TANNEHILL, Richard Lee
Reno, Nevada
Conspiracy and restraint of trade

TENAGLIA, Nicholas C.
Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania
Receipt of illegal payments under the Medicare program

THOMAS, Gary Allen
Lancaster, Texas
Theft of mail by postal employee

TODD, Larry Weldon
Gardendale, Texas
Conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. in violation of the Lacey Act and the Airborne Hunting Act

TREVINO, Olga C.
Converse, Texas
Misapplication by a bank employee

VAMVOUKLIS, Ignatious
Exeter, New Hampshire
Possession of cocaine

VAN DE WEERD, Patricia A.
Tomahawk, Wisconsin
Theft by a U.S. Postal employee

WADE, Christopher V.
 
 

WARMATH, Bill Wayne
Walls, Mississippi
Obstruction of correspondence

WATSON, Jack Kenneth
Oakridge, Oregon
Making false statements of material facts to the U.S. Forest Service

WEBB, Donna Lynn
Panama City, Florida
False entry in savings and loan record by employee

WELLS, Donald William
Phenix City, Alabama
Possession of an unregistered firearm

WENDT, Robert H.
Kirkwood, Missouri
Conspiracy to effectuate the escape of a federal prisoner

WILLIAMS, Jack L.
 
Making false statements to federal agents

WILLIAMS, Kevin Arthur
Omaha, Nebraska
Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine

WILLIAMS, Robert Michael
Davison, Michigan
Conspiracy to transport in foreign commerce securities obtained by fraud

WILSON, Jimmie Lee
Helena, Arkansas
Converting property mortgaged or pledged to a farm credit agency, and converting public money to personal use

WINGATE, Thelma Louise
Sale City, Georgia
Mail fraud

WOOD, Mitchell Couey
Sherwood, Arkansas
Conspiracy to possess and to distribute cocaine

WOOD, Warren Stannard
Las Vegas, Nevada
Conspiracy to defraud the United States by filing a false document with the Securities and Exchange Commission

WORTHEY, Dewey
Conway, Arkansas
Medicaid fraud

YALE, Rick Allen
Belleville, Illinois
Bank fraud

YASAK, Joseph A.
Chicago, Illinois
Knowingly making under oath a false declaration regarding a material fact before a grand jury

YINGLING, William Stanley
 
Interstate transportation of stolen vehicle

YOUNG, Phillip David
Little Rock, Arkansas
Interstate transportation and sale of fish and wildlife

I wonder if slimball thinks

I wonder if slimball thinks that the below incident is a form of corruption:

Two months after commencing the Whitewater scam, Hillary Clinton invests $1,000 in cattle futures. Within a few days she has a $5,000 profit. Before bailing out she earns nearly $100,000 on her investment. Many years later, several economists will calculate that the chances of earning such returns legally were one in 250 million.

$100,000, even in today's dollars is not chump change.  Yet, billary has never had to account for exactly how she came by this money. 

Do you think that the drive bys will ever ask her?

HUH?

Ask her what?

LOL

Jimmy Carter

Was literally a fiscal conservative compared to some of these porkers (see Ted Stevens, for starters...) so it's a bit worse than "at times," Mr. Blackwell.
JMR

A corruption-story the TV media will-not cover.

Hillary on FOX

Hillary was just on F&F.  Obviously Rove wanted to chime in but was likely restrained by prelaid conditions.

In all, it was a fair interview.  Obama's on now.

♣ a seal

Arrrgh! She's still walks amongst us!

Man! Did I ever want her to be GONE this morning.

 Life sucks sometimes

»→ Sorry Mica

But it was my vote for Hillary yesterday that has her marching triumphant today.

Anything to prolong this Democrat season of discontent.

♣ a seal

Cool Arrow, I'm shocked!

But now we risk the fact that the MSM will fall in love with the Clintons again and we'll have

8 more freakin' years of the b**tards!!

»→ Again, Mica

I'm sorry, and it's a badge of shame I wore for about 11 hours yesterday.

But it was only a momentary lapse of reason.  This pot needs continual vigorous stirring.

It is my hope this Dem political race will open the eyes of the political pawns.

Susan Estrich referred to Clinton and Obama last night as "the woman" and "the black".  That says something.

♣ a seal

I understand what you're saying, cool

You can understand how much I looked forward to turning on the news this morning and watching a dewey-eyed Hilldebeast with her Botox injections running down her face in front of her silent supporters lamenting on how tough it is for a woman etc etc . . .

I reeeally need that moment.

 

»→ Patience, Mica

We need this time for both Dem Candidates to expose their true colors.  To begin the McCain vs Obama campaign at this early stage would be catastrophic.  Better the American electorate get nauseated with the avalanche of "did you hear what s/he just called me?" during the Dem process than the General election.

♣ a seal

But now we risk the fact


But now we risk the fact that the MSM will fall in love with the Clintons again and we'll have

8 more freakin' years of the b**tards!!

I don't think so, Mica. I think she is definitely more beatable than the Obama. The Obama would be the Kevlar candidate.

Well, I have to admit, I'm predicating this on the assumption that McCain, in his eagerness to run a "civil" campaign, won't actually end up campaigning for her.

Good point, motherbelt

There is a risk McCain may climb aboard the Apology Express

motherbelt - - Don't forget Obama has the delegates

Obama still leads in Delegates, so Hillary has to start being Devious....here comes Florida and Mich.....here comes the DNC pulling it's hair out...It's gonna be fun to watch.... 

Reid and Feinstein

I wonder. If Harry Reid or Diane Feinstein were Republicans, do you think there would be calls for investigation over (a) Reid's real estate deals and (b) Feinstein's use of Senate committee's to contracts to her husband.

 

This shows that Matthews,

This shows that Matthews, however he's packaged, is not a journalist, not an analyst, and not a commentator. He is a DEMOCRAT HACK - pure and simple. They may as well give James Carville his own show - there wouldn't be any difference.

So corruption is not an equal-opportunity employer?

Well have ya' checked any of your Rat friends freezers lately, Chrissy?