My new book, published by University Press entitled Political Rules of the Road: Representatives, Senators and Presidents Share their Rules for Success in Congress, Politics and Life, is due out by mid-August. The book is based on political rules of the road and life that were given to me over twenty years by Presidents, Senators, and Members of the House. I got the idea for the book when I became intrigued by what rules friends and colleagues of mine use in the biggest league in the world. I have only two rules, and they are pretty simple. The first rule is: Don’t get in a fight with someone who buys their ink by the carload, i.e., the Press. The second rule is: If you have to explain you are in trouble. Most of the rules in the book are incredibly practical and take into account the fact that the world can be cruel and unfair, but you still have to deal with it.
For those of us who live in Central Florida the problems of Former Representative Tom Feeney (R-FL) illustrate the two Frey Rules. Tom Feeney went on a golf trip to Scotland with lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The trip involved eight congressmen and had a total cost of $160,000.00. Tom’s share was $5,643.00. The trip was paid for by a think tank connected to Abramoff and occurred during Feeney’s first year in the Congress. Feeney turned up in the Abramoff investigation which went on for several years. It led to convictions of several Capitol Hill aides and one congressman, Former U.S. Representative Bob Nye (R-OH). Last year Abramoff got four years on corruption charges for trading luxuries such as golf junkets for political favors. This put Feeney in the spotlight and he was required to retain Washington counsel to represent him.
When it came to the 2008 Election, this was the issue and Feeney was hit hard and often by the Democratic Party and his opponent. Tom Feeney had been a rising star in the Republican Party and was one of the leading conservative spokesmen. The early polls showed that Feeney didn’t have a chance to win and the Republican Party pulled much of its money from Feeney. Feeney’s Democratic opponent Suzanne Kosmas ended up winning the race 57% to 41%, one of the biggest margins in the Country against an incumbent.
Just recently the Department of Justice announced that it had dropped its ethics investigation into Former Representative Tom Feeney. Feeney’s attorney, Robert Luskin said: “The investigation is over and completely resolved in Congressman Feeney’s favor.” There are many questions still remaining. For instance, why did the Justice Department keep this investigation open and not try to act quickly and fairly before the 2008 campaign ended? Will anyone reimburse Feeney’s legal expenses of $108,000.00? Most of this money came from his campaign account which could be used for other purposes.
Feeney was killed by innuendo. The Press got on him and kept the issue alive. The Press did not call for a quick resolution of the issue by the Justice Department. Every time Feeney’s name came up a reference to Abramoff was usually attached to it. Feeney tried to explain that he didn’t know Abramoff was involved, and he paid the amount spent on him ($5,643.00) to the U.S. Treasury. He said he never did any favors for Abramoff and he paid his own airfare and green fees, but no-one was listening to his explanation. Feeney also said he made “a rookie mistake.” It really does not make any difference whether it was a rookie mistake or one made by a seasoned Member of the House. It was a mistake. Feeney was treated unfairly but put himself in harms way. It will be interesting now to see what reaction, if any, comes from the voters in his former district. My guess is Tom wants to run again for the House. Politics, it is a tough business, it isn’t always fair, but you must deal with perception not reality.
