When Robert “Freedom Fries” Ney left Congress disgraced in 2007, he was found guilty of using his position to grant favors to Jack Abramoff’s lobbying team. In exchange, he was given free trips to the Super Bowl, Northern Marianas Islands, and Scotland, along with the use of luxury boxes at sporting events and concerts. This was on top of multiple meals and other perks from Jack Abramoff’s group.
He served 30 months in a federal penitentiary, followed by two years probation. Having been through so much, he decided to share his story in a book titled Sideswiped: Lessons Learned Courtesy of the Hit Men of Capitol Hill. Inside it you find the story of a congressman on the take within the Republican dominated House of Representatives during the early part of the last decade. And the picture he paints includes a very large target on some very, very big names in the Republican Party today.The book’s prologue speaks of his incarceration, of how his first attempt to write was effectively stolen from him; of his battle with alcoholism (last drink was September 13, 2006). It also speaks about his perception that the same system which he had been a part of, a system of abuse of power and corruption, was still in place, more powerful and prevalent than ever.
a little skeptical about tell alls they are subject to all sorts of influences and dalliances. with out corroboration of respected source could be just hype to sell the book. that said we have actually seen and heard of republican criminalities they are real and as the article suggest stronger, but nothing last forever and we are now seeing the meltdown in the form of all kinds of corruptive behavior, from voter blocking to wars of choice to maintaining the status quo for the rich and deregulate to make unscrupulous business more profitable.
But when we get to more current times, when we find him facing people still in power, the pattern of corruption and abuse of power is so well entrenched in the narrative, it must have been viewed as just how things worked in the Republican Party. His jobs were gained due to corruption, or the abuse of political power. There were keywords to use. In one event, he quotes Phil Hamilton after he put down one of these keywords on a job application:This man was sent to me and on the back of his application says James A. Rhodes. Find a job, create a job, or @!$%# a job, I do not care which, but do it now. [Source]James A. Rhodes, of course, is the former governor of Ohio who sent in the National Guard that ultimately killed the students at Kent State University in 1970. This abuse of power was to benefit Bob Ney and, in the future, he and his colleagues in Congress would do the same.Mr. Ney paints a picture of Boehner as begin in the pocket of fat cat tobacco lobbyists, enjoying the high life on their dime. Boehner is spoken of as someone who wanted to kill programs, any programs, to help the poor, particularly poor children. One effort, to kill Head Start, had Boehner, along with then House Majority Leader Tom Delay, directly threatening Ney in a move backed by the Bush Administration, which unleashed Chief of Staff Andy Card on him. The conversation, as cited by former Congressman Ney went as follows:NEY: I have always supported Head Start over my entire career. I don’t like this vote, and I just cannot help you.
CARD: Let me make this clear. Boehner said you were a vote ‘for us’ and we are holding you to that.
NEY: I don’t know where Boehner got that from. I can rethink this, but I don’t like it and I’m sure I will not change my mind.
CARD: You are a @!$%#ing liar!
NEY: @!$%# you Andy, and your idiotic Administration. [Source]Boehner continued to attempt to strong-arm Bob Ney over the legislation, and he found opportunities drying up for him over his refusal to vote to kill off educational programs for children.
" Beware of keeping secrets, because surely what's done in the dark will eventually come to the light. It's better to be honest and confess rather than hide from the truth "
tangled web syndrome hereditary right wing disease.
