Wanting it both ways


Congressional Democrats want to exploit Republican scandal while overlooking their own
Jack Kelly nails it.

They're getting help from the news media. It's been widely reported that Michael Scanlon, a business partner of Mr. Abramoff, was once an aide to former House Majority Leader Tom Delay of Texas. It is rarely mentioned that Mr. Abramoff also hired Eddie Ayoob, who until 2002 was legislative counsel for Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

Mr. Abramoff is front page news. But there was virtually no news coverage when one of Sen. Hillary Clinton's fund-raising committees agreed Jan. 5th to pay a $35,000 fine for failing to report $722,000 in contributions.

Last week Sen. Reid's staff issued a report accusing 33 GOP senators who received contributions from Mr. Abramoff or his clients of "abuse of power."

This is guilt by association. Mr. Abramoff is a crook. Therefore anyone to whom he gave money or socialized with must be a crook, too. But the steps Sen. Reid and other Democrats took on behalf of Mr. Abramoff's clients complicate their efforts to portray this as purely a GOP scandal.

Democrats received about a third of the money donated by Mr. Abramoff's clients and by employees of his lobbying firm. Among those receiving the most were Rep. Robert F. Kennedy of Rhode Island ($128,000, 2nd overall); Sen. Reid ($40,500), and Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee ($67,000).

I absolutely agree that elected officials should be held accountable for their associations with lobbyists. But that means everyone.

And let's not forget, campaign finance reform made it all possible.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Tue - January 24, 2006 at 04:31 AM  Tag


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