Dems in Bed with Abramoff

Dear Dems,

Part of the reason so many Americans don't pay attention to politics is because they are disillusioned, thoroughly convinced that both parties are equally corrupt. You tell them it's not true. But here's the thing: It actually has to be not true for people to believe you.

Okay, so you're not as bad as the GOP, but is that really something you can brag about? Is that really something that makes a difference to the average American? - pretty corrupt verses really corrupt? That's the reason people vote for the guy who seems like the one with whom they'd most like to have a beer, instead of on real issues. Please get it together. You're not helping by being "the party that's less objectionable than the GOP."

Love,
Shakespeare's Sister

It seems I’m always saying, Wow, it sure would be nice if the Dems hadn’t gone along with the GOP on that one. What if the Dems hadn’t voted for the Iraq War? What if they had collectively and unanimously voted against the bankruptcy bill? What if they hadn’t capitulated to the GOP regarding the nuclear option? What if what if what if…

So it is with great dismay, if little surprise, that I read in today’s Washington Post that some Dems also went along with the notion that DeLay pal and lobbyist Jack Abramoff was a swell guy with whom to do business...or at least the team lobbyists he oversaw at the law firm Greenberg Traurig.

Among the biggest beneficiaries were Capitol Hill's most powerful Democrats, including Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.) and Harry M. Reid (Nev.), the top two Senate Democrats at the time, Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.), then-leader of the House Democrats, and the two lawmakers in charge of raising funds for their Democratic colleagues in both chambers, according to a Washington Post study. Reid succeeded Daschle as Democratic leader after Daschle lost his Senate seat last November.

Democrats are hoping to gain political advantage from federal and Senate investigations of Abramoff's activities and from the embattled lobbyist's former ties to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.). Yet, many Democratic lawmakers also benefited from Abramoff's political operation, a fact that could hinder the Democrats' efforts to turn the lobbyist's troubles into a winning partisan issue.

"It wouldn't surprise me to see the Abramoff controversy impact both parties," said Tony Raymond, co-founder of PoliticalMoneyLine.com, which gathers lobbying and campaign finance information.

Democratic lawmakers who responded to inquiries for this article said that any money they received from the tribes had nothing to do with Abramoff. They were quick to say they did not know the man.

[…]

James Patrick Manley, Reid's spokesman, also asserted that Reid's connection to tribes was remote from Abramoff. He said that Reid does not know Abramoff. But Abramoff did hire as one of his lobbyists Edward P. Ayoob, a veteran Reid legislative aide. Manley acknowledged that Ayoob helped raise campaign money for his former boss. Lawyers close to the Abramoff operation said that Ayoob held a fundraising reception for Reid at Greenberg Traurig's offices here.

"There's nothing sinister here," Manley said. Reid is a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee with strong relations with Indian tribes, he explained.

Daschle was familiar with another of Abramoff's Democratic lobbyists, Michael Smith. According to Steve Hildebrand, who was Daschle's campaign manager last year, Smith "helped with a lot of Democratic campaigns." In addition, Daschle was a favorite of Indian tribes and received donations from 64, including five Abramoff clients. "We took about $150,000 in this last election cycle from Indian tribes around the country," Hildebrand said. "Tom is viewed as a champion of Indian issues. We have nine tribes in South Dakota, and they worked hard for him."

Et cetera.

It may well be true that none of the Dems who received tribal donations were up to anything fishy (or it might not be), but even if it is true, it sure puts them in a pretty difficult position to harp on DeLay’s genuinely unethical interactions with Abramoff. Way to go, Dems. Again.

(And lest you think I’m picking on them unfairly, here’s the description of how Abramoff’s lobbyists worked: “According to documents and tribal officials familiar with the Abramoff team's methods, the lobbyists devised lengthy lists of lawmakers to whom the tribes should donate and then delivered the lists to the tribes. The tribes, in turn, wrote checks to the recommended campaign committees and in the amounts the lobbyists prescribed.” Tell me that the beneficiaries of those donations had no idea what was going on. They were engaged in full-on pay-for-play.)

It would be nice if the Dems stopped building the moral high ground on quicksand for a change.