The media stories the past two days on Mr. Abramoff have been quite entertaining. Some, evidently, are painting this as a "republican" issue. Uh, I don't think so. Lobbyists are a CONGRESSIONAL issue, i.e. on both sides of the aisle.
For instance, good old Harry Reid has been implicated as having ties with Mr. Abramoff, as has Byron Dorgan and Carl Levin. Is being associated with a lobbyist a bad thing? I guess it depends on one's perspective.
I look at lobbyists as salespeople. They try to sell their cause to the senator or representative they are talking to. However, when they lavish gifts upon them, and essentially bribe these same congressmen, then there's an ethical problem. Who participates in this? People on both sides, as the above article points out. I would be interested to see who all is implicated when this is all said and done.
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The public reaction will most likely be "a plague on both your houses." But it's interesting that Newt Gingrich seems to paint this as a Republican issue--being true to the Reagan Revolution--and that so many, many more of those who received money from Abramoff directly are Republicans. Does it trouble y'all any that that is true?
I'm not sure what Newt has been saying, but there's a WHOLE LIST of democrats associated with Abramoff besides the one's listed. This is not a republican issue, it's a congressional issue. I personally would hope that ALL of our public servants, regardless of party, would have proper ethics. That's not true, unfortunately, in either party.
According to Investors Business Daily, “Forty of 45 Democratic senators have received money from Jack Abramoff, his associates and Indian tribe clients.” Here’s IBD’s “Top Ten:
John Kerry, Massachusetts, $98,550
Byron Dorgan, North Dakota, $79,300
Patty Murray, Washington, $78,991
Harry Reid, Nevada, $68,941
Tom Harkin, Iowa, $45,750
Joe Lieberman, Connecticut, $29,830
Chuck Schumer, New York, $29,500
Mary Landrieu, Louisiana, $28,000
Max Baucus, Montana, $22,500
Maria Cantwell, Washington, $21,765
Source: campaignfinanceanalysisproject.com
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