By Susan Crabtree Tribes have historically donated overwhelmingly to Democrats, a trend that NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) wants to change. Cole makes no apologies for leading a fundraising drive aimed at tapping into tribal money. As he puts it, Native Americans should be involved in politics, and for him the issue is personal. A Chickasaw, Cole is the only registered member of a tribe in Congress, and he maintains close ties to the tribal gambling community, which has donated heavily to his personal campaigns in the past. His mother was a member of the Chickasaw Nation’s Hall of Fame, his great-grandfather served as the tribe’s treasurer, and his great-great-grandfather was clerk of the tribe’s Supreme Court. The Chickasaw tribe owns 12 casinos in Oklahoma, just one piece of a business portfolio that includes ownership of several banks, a chocolate factory and seven tobacco outlets. Cole’s ties to the Indian gaming industry are so close that he was interviewed for the position of assistant interior secretary in charge of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which oversees the National Indian Gaming Commission, early in 2001. The future Oklahoma congressman said he was not interested and suggested that then-Interior Secretary Gale Norton instead offer the job to his longtime friend, Neal McCaleb, who was hired. McCaleb resigned in 2002 after becoming embroiled in a long-running lawsuit involving the government’s handling of Indian trust funds and now works for the Chickasaw Nation’s business arm, which runs the casinos and other businesses. Now that Cole is charged with pulling the House GOP reelection committee out of its deep debt, he is tapping into his background and extensive knowledge of Native American issues to educate fellow GOP lawmakers and reach out to the tribal community in the hope that they will reach back with donations to the NRCC. Cole says only that the NRCC is doing “pretty well” so far in its Native American donor drive. Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show that in the first two months of this year, three tribes donated a total of $82,000 to the NRCC, including the Chickasaw Nation, the Mississippi Band of Choctaws (a former Abramoff client), and the Soboba Band of Leisene Indians. “Tribes have every right to participate in the political process,” Cole said in an interview with The Hill. “I don’t think other people should make that decision for them. The most dangerous time for tribes is when they’re not participating in the political process.” Cole is not alone in his efforts. Even though the Abramoff scandal was a liability for Republicans and spawned a flurry of ethics reforms, it has done little to dampen both parties’ appetite for Indian gambling largesse. Earlier this year, Senate Democrats held a fundraising event during a national gathering of Native Americans in Washington. The reception was hosted by lobbyists and the political action committee for tribal casinos. Read more...

Labels: Cong. Tom Cole

Posted at 4/18/2007 11:47:00 AM