Just because Abramoff and his associates made campaign contributions to Burns, Sen. Max Baucus and Rep. Denny Rehberg doesn't mean Montana's congressional delegation has done anything wrong, he said.
“The people of Montana know Conrad and Denny and Max well enough to know that they've worked a long time on their behalf, and they know how (the congressmen) conduct their affairs,” he said. “They're fair people. They'll judge that in a fair manner.”
“My belief in my heart is that (President Bush) is going to go down as one of the best presidents ever, accomplishing more than we would ever imagine,” he said.
Racicot, 57, a Republican, served as governor of Montana from 1993-2000, during which he became an early supporter of Bush for president in 2000. The two met when Bush was governor of Texas.
Racicot chaired Bush's re-election campaign in 2004 and previously served as chairman of the Republican National Committee. After leaving office in Montana, he worked in a Washington, D.C., law firm, lobbying for corporate clients.
He currently is chief executive officer of the American Insurance Association, the trade group representing 435 property and casualty insurance companies nationwide.
Racicot dismissed suggestions that he might return to Montana and run for office and said “it's not even a remote possibility” that Burns will not run for re-election in 2006.
Burns, 70, is up for a fourth consecutive term as U.S. senator.
News stories often mention Burns as one of the members of Congress most closely linked to Abramoff, the lobbyist accused of bilking Indian tribes for millions of dollars and using campaign contributions to extract favors for his clients.
Burns and his campaign committees received about $150,000 from Abramoff-related sources from 2001-03, more than any other member of Congress.
Two weeks ago, Burns said he will return the Abramoff money and denounced the lobbyist's actions. He also has said he took no undue actions on behalf of Abramoff or any of his clients.
Racicot said it's “preposterous” to say the Abramoff scandal “confines itself to Conrad Burns,” and that much of the talk about Abramoff is “speculation, rumor, gossip and innuendo” spread by “political opportunists who will do everything in their power to try to take advantage of that, to serve their own purpose.”
He said there's “no evidence of any kind” suggesting any untoward activity by Burns, or Baucus and Rehberg, who received lesser amounts of campaign funds from Abramoff and his associates or clients.
When asked about e-mails and other statements on record that implicate links between Burns and Abramoff, Racicot said there “has been no evidence submitted, that I know of, that's publicly known, in a tribunal or a court of law that suggests anything negative about Max Baucus, Denny Rehberg or Conrad Burns.”
Racicot also weighed in on utility issues, saying he opposes the proposal by a group of Montana cities to buy NorthWestern Energy and convert it to a publicly owned utility.
It's better to have “competitive enterprises” and the private sector running utilities and assuming the level of debt needed to complete the deal, he said.
The former governor, who supported and signed Montana's 1997 utility deregulation law, said he still supports the concept - despite an aftermath that included the financial demise of Montana Power Co., higher utility rates and scant competitive options for the average utility consumer.
The negative fallout after deregulation had more to do with other economic forces, and utility deregulation was a nationwide trend, he said.
“Congress set it in motion,” Racicot said. “We couldn't stop it. It was sweeping the states.”
Other Pacific Northwest states, which, like Montana, enjoyed relatively low energy costs, did not pass sweeping deregulation or “restructuring” laws.
Racicot, back in Montana for the holidays, spoke to various media outlets across the state this week. He said Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman asked if Racicot could spend time in Montana talking about issues, and he agreed.
“It's a matter of cosmic intersection that I am here on my own dime, and speaking about the issues,” he said.
Racicot called the war in Iraq a “war for the freedom of this country” and said a solid majority of Americans “know in their heart that we have to win this.”
“We either take up this battle in Baghdad or we will in Belgrade,” he said. “That's just a fact. I think the American people know that.”
He also said Republicans in Congress have to work hard to prove to voters that they should be trusted to run the government.
“This is a very dynamic form of government, our democracy,” he said. “What it does is it makes people perform. So if you want to serve, you'd better perform. Political parties can get docile. We forget how we got where we are, and we start to take it for granted.”
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