No Democratic member of Congress is "ensnared" in the Abramoff scandal -- and I will bet good money none are going to be!
The only way their attempts to tar Democrats will get anywhere is
if we buy the malarkey they are trying to sell.
We cannot let ourselves be sidetracked by irrelevant foolishness.
Rule 1: Everything that originates with the reactionary right is a lie (and partial truths are the most insidious lies of all).
Rule 2: The beltway boobs parrot the lies.
Rule 3: Not sure if what you are hearing is a lie? Refer to rule 1.
The Big Lie:
Democratic members of Congress who got contributions from Greenberg Traurig lobbyists, Tribal Councils, or other sources that might be connected to Abramoff in some way, are just as dirty as Ney and Delay.This is crap. Reject it in all its forms. No ifs ands or buts.
Democratic Members of Congress have introduced or supported initiatives that serve both tribal interests and the common good. Why wouldn't tribes seek to keep these folks in Congress through their contributions? It would be shocking if Dems DIDN’T get substantial contributions from tribal councils or from the Greenberg Traurig lobbyists that represent them.
Abramoff and Scanlon have engaged in some unbelievably dirty dealings, but that
does not mean that every action advocated, or every transaction conducted, by a member of "Team Abramoff" was dirty.
The problem is not the contributions per se.
The actions taken by dirty legislators for personal gain are the problem.
Over and over again, Ney, Delay, and their ilk pushed through legislation that funneled our tax dollars into the pockets of their cronies for things that served absolutely no positive public purpose. They were bribed to take such actions and rewarded when the deeds were done.
There is
absolutely no comparison between what men like Ney and Delay have done, and what men like Harkin and Reid have done.
Lets keep our eyes on the ball and set others straight whenever we can.
Reid was absolutely right to reject the notion that there was anything wrong with the $6,500 he received from associates of Greenberg from 1999 through 2004, or the $40,000 various tribal councils contributed during the same period.
As stated by Ernie Stevens, Jr., chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association:
"We don't always agree with Senator Reid, but I think he has been consistent on Indian gaming issues, and I don't think the contributions have changed his posture on any of those issues," Stevens said. "This is all part of the political process and we have a right to participate."
A simple comparison of the initiatives advocated by Dems and those advocated by Repubs puts rest the "both sides" malarkey.
A couple examples from the Democratic side:
Apology Resolution Introduced; National Congress of American Indians Praises "Meaningful Start" NCAI President Tex Hall said the United States Apology Resolution, recently introduced in the U.S. Senate, is a "meaningful start for fixing what is wrong for Indian people in this country." Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), who is introduced the legislation, S.J.Res. 19, to the floor of the Senate, along with Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT), said tribes deserve an apology for what he calls the government's "poor and painful past choices."
July 2003 Daschle, Johnson Introduce New Indian Trust Reform Legislation linkHarkin wrote at least three letters in 2003 pressing the government to release federal money to help the Sac & Fox tribe in his state cope with the temporary closing of its casino due to a tribal dispute, according to Interior Department documents obtained by The Associated Press and records provided by Harkin's office.
Harkin "wrote these letters and worked on this issue because over 1,300 Meskwaki people and Iowans were out of work," Dobson said. "This was a very dire situation for the community."
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