Things are clearly not going well for religious right golden-boy Ralph Reed, as his campaign for lieutenant governor in Georgia continues to struggle. Most of the Georgia’s Republican state senators want him to quit, he’s hurting in the polls, and he’s offering money to people to show up at rallies on his behalf.
Obviously, Reed’s close personal and professional ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff are destroying his career, but there’s only one thing that could make Reed’s story slightly worse: Enron.
We already know that Reed’s consulting firm racked up lucrative fees from Enron. Indeed, as MoJo reported over a year ago, Karl Rove “reportedly helped Reed land an Enron contract worth at least $300,000 to help build support for energy deregulation.”
But the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tied together both of Reed’s most glaring problems. Reed worked for Enron, and Reed lobbied with Abramoff, and now we know Reed also tried to bring Enron and Abramoff together. (thanks to reader J.C. for the tip)
One year before the energy firm went belly up, paid adviser Ralph Reed urged Enron officials to hire Abramoff, then a rising Washington lobbyist, as a “kitchen cabinet” consultant.
The e-mailed endorsement resulted in clubby lunches in which Abramoff and Enron reps, future icons of scandal in Washington and on Wall Street, sat across the table from each other.
It’s well-known that Reed worked for both Enron and Abramoff. That he helped them cross paths is not. The e-mail has never been published before.
On the campaign trail, Reed tells Georgians that he barely knew who Abramoff was, and they sort of worked together sparingly, which Reed now regrets. But the AJC report suggests otherwise.
In a 2000 email to Richard Shapiro, Enron’s top lobbyist, Reed said, “abramoff is arguably the most influential and effective gop lobbyist in congress. i share several clients with him and have yet to see him lose a battle. he also is very close to [then-House majority leader Tom] Delay and could help enormously on that front.”
It’s quite a motley crew, isn’t it? Reed, Abramoff, and Enron — a match made in…somewhere unpleasant.