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Well, I guess ol' Duke Cunningham was just the first Republican lawmaker to have to resign in the face of a corruption scandal. He's just gonna be the first of the Class of '05-'06 once Abramoff's done singin' to the Feds. Hmmm, maybe Texas is the least of Tom DeLay's problems. Let the good times . . . er . . . heads roll!
posted by Pete @ 1/04/2006 10:25:00 AM
11 comments
11 Comments:
"Rats Fleeing the Sinking Ship Tally":
- Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) - giving up $150K from Abramoff
- House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IN) - $70 K
- President Bush (R-TX) - $6K
- Cong. Tom DeLay (through his PAC) (R-TX) - $5K
- Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) - $67K
Well, just to show that this may be a bipartisan issue, I'll add to your list:
Maryland Gov. Robert Erlich (D)- $16K
Actually, Bob Ehrlich is a Republican.
But I take your point. As I showed above, Sen. Dorgan is a Democrat. Abramoff was an R and gave more than 2/3 of his $$ to Rs. There will be some Ds on the hook, though.
However, this is clearly a Republican scandal, especially in the wake of Duke Cunningham's ignominious resignation for accepting bribes just a few short weeks ago. Abramoff, in addition to being an R, was one of the architects, along with Tom DeLay and his crew, of "The K Street Project." This was the name they gave their move, documented in a now-famous memo, to force K Street lobbying firms and companies heavily involved in lobbying in DC to predominantly hire Rs and support R candidates and causes, or risk being shut off from their "access". They were/are fairly open about their movement, making clear that they are "watching" to see who doesn't hire enough Rs, who gives to D campaigns or the DNC, and who doesn't give to Rs. Once you're on the "list", no more access for you.
The K Street Project is now being shown for what it is: a devious power consolidation effort and, basically, government for sale.
Didn't Baucus (D-Montana) give up some Abramoff money?
I'm so f*cking sick and tired of Congress -- no, all of the federal gov't -- being bought-and-sold to the lobbyists and special interests.
Baucus? Can't remember, but possibly. Hasn't been in the current press clips.
Geez, Pete. Always gotta be the "know-it-all." Fine, Erlich's a Republican. Are you happy now?
;-)
@Pete: Check this out.
Yup, Baucus too.
"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress."
-Mark Twain
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Sweet quote (out of Post) from the head of the Club for Growth, a big anti-tax lobby, and a big W supporter:
"What the Republicans need is 50 Jack Abramoffs," his friend Grover Norquist told National Journal in 1995. "Then this becomes a different town."
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