'98 Political Battles Don't Hurt His Front-Runner Status

By Jeff Marchesseault

GUAM - Guam politics have always been heated and divisive. Yet, in the past, Guam's politicians have been able to come together after the results roll in -- and reunite our community.

In fact, politicians on Guam traditionally would become the Godparents to each others' children and have generally become lifelong friends – if not already family.

But starting in the 1990's, a disturbing trend surfaced. As local politicians became more media-focused, they began enlisting the help of off-island consultants. And these consultants brought the full breadth of national political campaign strategies to our island – some good, some not so good.

The War Of 1998

Case in point – the 1998 campaign for Governor saw some of the most underhanded and destructive dirty politics our island has ever seen. And the players in this zero-sum game where the winner takes all reached the highest levels of Washington, D.C.

Deposed U.S. Representative Tom Delay, convicted Washington, D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and long time Delay aide Tony Rudy apparently masterminded a scheme to discredit incumbent Governor and candidate Carl Gutierrez by launching federal investigations, cooking up unfounded accusations and imposing their will on the people of Guam to carry out their political agenda.

The 1998 gubernatorial race was marked by baseless accusations, character attacks, and actual attempts to paint Carl Gutierrez as a dangerous personality. But how did powerful Washington, D.C. politicians infiltrate the Guam election?

Enter Michael Scanlon, a longtime associate of Jack Abramoff, as the campaign strategist for Gutierrez's Republican challenger. While the challenging gubernatorial team may have thought they were getting sage political advice, what they really got was an on-the-ground operative to inflict serious damage to Guam's election process with tactics that would elevate the intensity of campaigning on our island to raw hatred and disregard for the values of our people.

The strategy devised by Delay, Abramoff and Rudy was simple – throw a lot of unfounded corruption charges at the Gutierrez administration, use Delay's power as a senior member of Congress, and employ Abramoff lobbying influences to ensure that federal investigations were carried out. The long arm of Washington, D.C.'s spin meister elite reached the local U.S. Attorney's office, which then began a systematic witch hunt against Gutierrez and anyone near to him.

On the local election front, Scanlon was so effective at his role that he managed to get the buy-in from some local players. Whether knowingly or not, the local Republican team played right into the scheme. Attorney Douglas Moylan, a Republican supporter, became a main player in helping carry out Scanlon's directives from D.C.

And Scanlon himself built a campaign strategy designed to savage the character of Governor Gutierrez.

Victory At Last

Despite an election challenge orchestrated by opposition strategists, ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court would uphold the election results by ruling that Gutierrez-Bordallo had, in fact, received a majority of votes in the 1998 election.

Meanwhile, after serving back-to-back terms as Governor between 1994 and 2002 and continuing his more than 40-year legacy of helping improve the quality of life for the people of Guam, Carl Gutierrez is now running for Governor again. This time, he does so at a juncture when many of his most formidable detractors have been exposed for their wrongdoing, brought to justice, and stripped of their presumptuous mandate.

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff was eventually convicted for a string of wrongdoings and is now in prison. Congressman Delay was indicted in 2005 on charges of money laundering. Tony Rudy pled guilty to conspiracy in connection to payments from Abramoff clients and associates. Mike Scanlon pled guilty to corruption and assisted in the investigation of his former partners, including Abramoff.

While their punishments may have had little to do with their political maneuverings on Guam, the foursome's much-publicized undoing is evidence of their character and the lengths they were willing to go to achieve their unsavory ends.

No doubt, the downfall of this group of national politicos is a vindication of Carl Gutierrez's record of public service. But it is also a victory for the people of Guam, whose own political savvy enabled them to see beyond the politics of personal destruction to re-elect a local leader they believed in, even when the most "sophisticated" of forces was brought down against him.

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GA goes all da ways!   |2010-03-01 03:58:29 I was so proud when I saw the headquarter of Cal and Frank. There was so many peoples almos 75,000 yesterday in Aniquak. Man, are team is gonna win big!!!!! Reply | Quote 0   0

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