Word: reed
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...though his image, fundraising and lead in the polls slowly unraveled over the past several months, pundits still thought the 45-year-old Georgia native had a chance to make it a close race. But when the disappointing results from suburban Cobb County, a crucial conservative Republican stronghold for Reed, came in less than three hours after the polls closed, Reed conceded, already facing a 56% to 44% deficit with less than half the precincts counted...
...voters punished Reed for the same kind of duplicitious political behavior he used to build campaigns against. As revelations from the Abramoff case slowly leaked out, it appeared that as a lobbyist and consultant, Reed had urged his base to fight tribal casino gambling and state lotteries with the help of $5 million from competing gaming interests in four southern states. "I would have voted for Reed, but it really bothered me that he took that money for casinos. I gave Cagle a chance," said Mike Craig, 46, a voter in Cobb County...
...Reed's evasive, constantly shifting explanations didn't help his cause. Reed first denied he used gambling funds for his lobbying efforts, then stated he didn't know the source of the funds, then said had he known he would not have accepted them, which ran counter to e-mails between him and Abramoff released by the U.S. Senate's Indian Affairs Committee. Then a week before the election, a tribe in Texas filed a federal lawsuit alleging fraud against the pair. In TV ads Reed continued to blame the "liberal media," but for long stretches in the campaign...
...Reed faithful - at least what was left of them - thought he had been hung out to dry by his former friends. "I believe there's a real tight network with the Senators," said Stan Coates, 52, of Marietta in Cobb County, referring to the nearly two dozen GOP lawmakers who had publicly urged Reed to step down during the campaign. Referrring to Abramoff, he added: "To be guilty by association, people listen to those lies and hang onto them," said Coates...
...Reed's future, he's still the owner of the consulting and lobbying firm Century Strategies, though landing work for a political candidate could be tricky this season if Abramoff talks or Reed is called before Congress. But a campaign staffer said that possibility hasn't stopped Reed from trying to line up work. "He's working it. He's working it harder now," said a campaign staffer...