Corrupt Lobbyist鈥檚 Tell-All Published by Conspiracy-Mongering WND
Given his reputation as a corrupt master of manipulation, disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff has been given a surprisingly credulous welcome by the media following the Nov. 1 release of his book Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth about Washington Corruption from America鈥檚 Most Notorious Lobbyist.
Described by its publisher as 鈥渁n engrossing, informative work鈥� that will 鈥渟erve as a corrective鈥� to Abraham鈥檚 鈥渨ildly misunderstood鈥� story, the book and its author have in the past week been portrayed with relative sympathy by at least two important mainstream outlets, and . Neither lets him off the hook entirely; the Times, for example, notes that his book tour is 鈥渃lassic Abramoff鈥� and 鈥渞eflects his latest and most personal lobbying effort yet: the one on which he lobbies for himself.鈥� But (ironically, given the subject matter) neither do the two reports look at who is behind this effort to redeem 鈥淐asino Jack,鈥� and who stands to benefit from it.
They should 鈥� for Capitol Punishment is not being published by a mainstream imprint. Its publisher is none other than WND Books, an arm of the obsessively conspiracist online magazine WorldNetDaily, which earlier this year released right-wing attack dog Jerome Corsi鈥檚 latest birther screed, .
Though it is best known for its dogged birtherism, WND trucks in all manner of far-right lunacy, as is amply demonstrated by the top 10 bestsellers promoted in its online store. Among these is Scott Lively鈥檚 , which makes the claim that the Holocaust was masterminded by gay men; Cleon Skousen鈥檚 , which outlines a plan for turning the United States into 50 little theocracies, each dictating morality according to its own religious ethics; and a bizarre tome called Marx and Satan, which argues that 鈥渢he destruction of mankind鈥� was 鈥淢arx鈥檚 ultimate Satanic goal.鈥�
WND鈥檚 paranoid universe includes more that just books and articles. In a recent 鈥渦rgent鈥� letter to subscribers interested in 鈥淐arefully Selected Offers from Third Parties,鈥� for instance, titled 鈥淭he Antichrist Identity,鈥� whose thesis is that Freemasons and 鈥渁postate鈥� Jews (as opposed to 鈥淏ible-believing鈥� ones) are behind an ancient plot to depopulate the planet, enslave the human race, and bring about a One World Government headed by European royalty. And just last Friday, WND was among the sponsors of a on the 鈥渢hreat鈥� that Islamic Shariah law supposedly poses to the United States.
WND isn鈥檛 the only one to lend Abramoff a helping hand. The bankrupt ex-lobbyist鈥檚 lavish book party in October was by right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson, who helms the online Daily Caller, an online publication that among other things has the ravings of rabid Islamophobe .
Abramoff鈥檚 past behavior has proven him to be not only a criminal but a master manipulator, and the personal benefits of recasting himself as a whistleblower of the influence-peddling system that he himself used to enrich himself are only too obvious. That doesn鈥檛 mean he can鈥檛 have useful insight on how to reform the system 鈥� but there are obvious reasons to pay careful attention to the company he keeps. From corrupt politicians and self-serving lobbyists, he has moved on to birthers, theocrats, conspiracists and Muslim-bashers. Not much of an improvement 鈥� and not the kind of comrades that should be overlooked by media seeking to promote a good old-fashioned American comeback tale.
