According to a story in the NY Times, a native american tribe in Texas is suing Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed for the activities I commented on here on July 8th. They were clearly wronged by these two, but if the details in the Times story are full and accurate, I have my doubts that they’ll be successful. Still, I think there’s a reasonable hope that just the publicity exposing the actions of the smarmy, two-faced, insincere douchebag who is running for Lt. Gov in Georgia will end the officeholding part of Reed’s career before it gets started.

For once, the assholes in the Club for Growth may be helping the Democrats. The race for Lincoln Chafee’s Senate  sea is looking to be a key race this fall in determining who has control of the U.S. senate. The Democrats  appear to have a strong fundraiser and candidate  in former state  Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse. Chafee is locked in a contentious and costly primary fight with the mayor of Cranston. Chafee is handily out fundraising  Mayor  Laffey,  but the mayor is getting help from the Kommissars of  conservative orthodoxy in the Club for Growth. Laffey just may leave Chafee bruised badly enough that the Ds can pick this one up.

This is the kind of thing that really makes me wonder why members of the military are so pre-disposed toward voting for Republicans. Combat veterans don’t get GI education benefits because they’re in the guard and reserve? Really? This is a bill that the Reaganite conservatives of 1984 got passed and that has been exasperated by Bush I & II calling so many reservists and guardsmen up to serve in combat.The mean, cynical little part of me wants to say “fuck ‘em”, they get what they vote for.

Garrison Keilor has a nice little piece about professional slimeball Ralph Reed’s latest outrage. Pious Ralph took money from Jack Abramoff’s gambling interests in one state to organize christians in an adjacent state against legalized gambling that would compete with Abramoff’s interests.