Former DeLay Aide Calls Christian Activists "Wackos." Will They Notice?

A Nov. 2 Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing revealed a startling memo that was sent from Michael Scanlon, a former aide to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), to the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana.

The Oct. 23, 2001, memo describes a mobilization effort for protecting the tribe's gambling business. To do so, Scanlon advocates a telemarketing campaign, mailers, and radio advertising on Christian radio.

On the third page of the memo, Scanlon wrote:

"Our mission is to get specifically selected groups of individuals to the polls to speak out AGAINST something. To that end, your money is best spent finding them and communicating with them on using the modes that they are most likely to respond to. Simply put we want to bring out the wackos to vote against something and make sure the rest of the public lets the whole thing slip past them. The wackos get their information form (sic) the Christian right, Christian radio, mail, the internet and telephone trees."

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Scanlon and his business partner, DeLay ally Jack Abramoff, stand accused of taking $66 million from Indian tribal clients, and directing the tribes to contribute to outside groups, which then sent checks to Abramoff's political allies.

The Coushatta Tribe alone spent almost $37 million on fees and donations directed by Abramoff and Scanlon, according to the Senate committee. Scanlon and Abramoff were hired as lobbyists by the Coushatta tribe to work against efforts by the rival Jena Band of Choctaws to open a casino that could compete with the Coushatta's gambling operation near Lake Charles, La.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the committee chairman, called the activity "breathtaking in its reach."

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What does it say that a top lobbyist, with ties to the upper echelons of the Republican Party, calls conservative Christian activists "wackos"?

I wonder how conservative Christian activists reacted to the news. Unfortunately, I suspect that very few of them heard or read about what Scanlon wrote. A Google news search found that the incendiary memo made its way into a Salon.com story and a handful of liberal blogs.

But the mainstream media turned a deaf ear. Conservative blogs? Didn't cover it. Fox News Channel? Skipped it.

I'm sure it's just a matter of time before the conservative media starts spinning that the "angry left" is trying to make a mountain out of a memo. It's a lot easier than admitting that, at least in this one case, they were treated like rubes.

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This item first appeared at Journalists Against Bush's B.S.

and he has played them like a violin.

instead of the more historically correct term 'chumps?'