Architect Karl Rove And the Politics of Power

one AMERICAN DREAMER Big Plans and Powerful Friends All roads lead to Karl. --Kenneth J. Duberstein, Republican lobbyist, Ronald Reagan chief of staff, Rove adviser When Marc Schwartz thinks back on the incident, he sees it as a kind of strutting by Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Schwartz, who was consulting for the Tigua Indian tribe of El Paso, Texas, was involved in a political effort to help his client reopen the Speaking Rock Casino in Ysleta, the dusty province of the Tiguas on El Paso's southeast side. The casino had been shuttered when the state of Texas had pressed its antigaming laws in the federal court system. The Tiguas had eventually decided to spend millions of dollars with Abramoff's lobby firm in an attempt to save the tribe's only real source of income. "I gotta meet Rove," Jack Abramoff told Schwartz one afternoon as they talked in the backseat of the lobbyist's car. Abramoff's driver, Joseph, was working his way through the crowded streets of Washington. The lobbyist gave Joseph a location for a rendezvous, and he set a course in the direction of the White House. "Really?" Schwartz asked. "We're going to the White House?" "No. No. We don't do that," Abramoff answered. "Why not?" Schwartz joked. "I'm sure George would want to see me." Schwartz was in the midst of one of several trips to Washington to get a sense of what the Tiguas were purchasing with the more than $4 million they were spending with Abramoff. Burdened with unrelenting poverty, tribal members had begun to receive respectable annual stipends from the casino's revenue stream before the state forced closure. They were acquiring educations, building modern homes, and taking jobs at Speaking Rock. Spending millions to save the tribe's financial security was an acceptable risk. Schwartz nonetheless wanted to take frequent measure of progress and met with Abramoff as often as was reasonable. Abramoff, in turn, felt compelled to display his influence to show Schwartz what the Tiguas were getting for their money. He explained to Schwartz why they were not going to see Karl Rove at the White House. "They've got movement logs over there and everything, and we like to keep things kind of quiet. So just watch. You'll really get a kick out of it." A few minutes later, Abramoff pointed through the front windshield at an approaching street corner and turned to smile at Schwartz. "You recognize him?" the lobbyist asked his client. "Son of a bitch," Schwartz muttered. "He's just out in the middle of the street." "Uh-huh." As the car came to a stop, Abramoff stepped out, and Schwartz lowered his window. The first part of the conversation between Abramoff and Karl Rove was easily heard. "We've got a problem, Jack." Rove mentioned a member of the House who was not cooperating on a piece of legislation. Schwartz was unable to hear the congressperson's name. "And this is getting really out of hand. We need to clamp down. We need this to stop. Can you put the fireman [Tom DeLay] on this and let Tom know we need this ended? This is not good for us." "You bet," Abramoff told the presidential adviser. "Taken care of. Not a problem. On it." This was how Rove and Abramoff conducted their business. Rove tried to avoid any record of meetings. Although President Bush and Tom DeLay were both from Texas, there was no great warmth between the White House and the majority leader. So Rove used Abramoff to deliver messages to House leadership, allowing the uberlobbyist to brag frequently within the concentric circles of Washington politics about his connections to the White House. Because theMoore, James is the author of 'Architect Karl Rove And the Politics of Power', published 2006 under ISBN 9780307237927 and ISBN 0307237923.