Robert K. Grey Quotes
Access is an earned, essential raw material for the lobbying process but vastly overrated as a finished product all by itself. No dam was ever built ... solely on the basis of access.
Robert K. Grey, Lobbyist, "In Defense of Lobbyists," New York Times, April 25, 1986
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Abramoff had bribed over 100 Congressional offices by a combination of campaign donations, paid golf junkets all over the world, free elegant meals at his own fancy Washington Restaurant, free tickets for the Congressmen, their staffs and their major constituents, to Concerts and sporting events including his own Skyboxes, and promises of future employment at very high salaries. Ironically, we was convicted of cheating some of his lobbying clients and did a jail term, but his “bribery” was technically usually legal. In addition to Abramoff, only one Congressman was charged and convicted of corruption, when many if not most had engaged in these corrupt practices. Congress makes the rules with loopholes so that what is bribery and corruption in any other setting is often not against the law if Congress is involved.
The phrase “short strokes” is a metaphor from the rowing racing tactic of as the finish line is approached, the boat maximizes speed by the rowers making shorter stokes, but at a much faster rate.
In 2014 he was accused of money laundering and placed under house arrest by the Russian Government. This typically was the first step in seizing some or all of his assets. When that is done, typically there are local and national politicians who will benefit as they will be able to “buy” the assets from the government at pennies on the dollar.
This memo was sent before he was nominated as a Supreme Court Justice. The Senate did not know of this memo at the time he was ratified otherwise he might not have been. Powell saw every serious critic of the American Economy or the existing government policies as “attacking” the American Free Enterprise System. Surprisingly, he thought that business executives were rather helpless when it came to supporting the status quo.
