Why Is McCain Sparing Abramoff Crony?
The New Republic has an interesting story on the feud between Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Grover Norquist, the Republican power broker and head of Americans for Tax Reform, who has extremely close ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. McCain, who has spearheaded an investigation into Abramoff’s misdeeds, appears to be letting Norquist off the hook, despite the fact that Norquist’s fingerprints are all over Jack’s dealings. Norquist and McCain have hated each other for about a decade, since McCain started pushing for campaign finance reform, TNR’s Ryan Lizza tells us. Norquist, whose livelihood depends on the sizeable GOP power base he maintains in part by directing donations to various candidates and organizations, doesn’t take kindly to McCain trying to swipe his lunch money. Hence, feud. When McCain, head of the Indian Affairs Committee, heard of Abramoff’s misdeeds, he jumped at the chance to investigate them, knowing of Jack’s ties to Norquist. You see, among other ways, Norqui
