Wampum

The simple answer is, yes. And, no. Sort of, works as well.

If we look at the Republican Party of the last decade as one big happy tent of fiscal conservatives, libertarians and social ideologues, then Abramoff easily gets a seat near the front row. But I think it's more telling to look at the divisions within that body, and see how and where Jack plied his trade in cash and influence.

The Gingrich Revolution of 1994 brought in a whole new gang of Republicans, but for the most part, these, led by the likes of Tom Delay and Dennis Hastert, were a new breed of politician with which even the GOP was unfamiliar. These weren't the classic blue-bloods who made their fortunes through the pursuit of unfettered Capitalism and the exploitation of the working class and environment. No, these were "populist" politicians, who had gained power through rhetoric, usually bashing one vulnerable group or another. Most were from "lowly" middle-class backgrounds, like the former exterminator Delay or wrestling coach Hastert. As they held the purse-strings of Congress, they certainly wielded a great amount of power, and for that reason, Congress was the first stop on Abramoff's gravy train.

This worked out well when most of Abramoff's clients had needs which could be met through Congressional actions, such as internet gambling and the sweatshop owners of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Northern Marianas. But was Abramoff shifted his energy to his tribal clients, which their seemingly unlimited supply of hard-to-trace cash, he realized that he needed access to the real powerbrokers in Washington, the old blue-blood Capitalists, and their enclaves within the various departments in the Administration.

Abramoff's old friend Grover Norquist had recognized this fact years before, and had worked hard to bring the two groups together, mostly through his famous Wednesday night gatherings. So it was to Norquist Abramoff turned when he needed access to Libertarian and James Watt-protege Gale Norton, and her band of "Wise-Use-men" in the Interior Department.

In 1997, Norquist applied the well-proven grassroots techniques of the Religious Right to a completely new medium: Republican "environmentalism". He, along with Norton and uber-Washington insider Julie Finley, founded the Coalition for Republican Environmental Advocates (later changed to the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy), putting the 27 year-old fundraising whiz-kid (and former Norton campaign staffer) Italia Federici at the helm. Contrary to the current media narrative on CREA, Federici took the reigns from the beginning, and was well-established in Washington even before Bush took office. In CREA's only 527 quarterly filing with the IRS (listing any actual dollars raised) in October 2000, the organization, run out of a post-office box and some space in Norquist's ATR headquarters, brought in $121,000 in $5 and $10K chunks from the likes of Chevron, Edison, Koch, AT&T, 3M, and Lyondell Chemicals.

When Delay's CoS Tony Rudy suggested Abramoff seek access to the Interior through Federici, it was Jack's relationship with Grover which really provided the grease. It was also Norquist who provided Abramoff direct access to the Oval Office for his tribal clients. But the fact is, it was always Norquist who was the quintessential "insider", and while that rubbed off a bit on Abramoff and opened numerous doors through close affiliates such as Finley, Jack was never A-list material, at least for the A-list crowd. For the Congressional B-listers, Jack, and his hoards o' tribal cash, was king.

The recent resurgence of Norquist, apparently unscathed from the Abramoff/Scalon scandal, should strike dread in the hearts of Democrats. But then, few on the Left truly understand the mechanics of the GOP, and so will be oblivious to the significance of the event. Until it's too late. Or perhaps, not even then.