Posted on 01/04/2006 4:56:47 AM PST by cp124
WASHINGTON — Maine's Democratic congressmen said Tuesday that the conviction of lobbyist Jack Abramoff should bring about reform and could taint House Republicans in this year's election.
"It's clear the Justice Department now has its sights trained on members of Congress and their staffs," said Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine. "I have no doubt that as this scandal unfolds, it will expose practices that the Republican leadership in the House has wanted to keep hidden."
His comments came as congressional watchdogs reported that no member of Maine's delegation - including its two Republican senators - received contributions from Abramoff in recent years.
Abramoff pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud. A federal judge said he had engaged in a conspiracy involving "corruption of public officials" by providing campaign contributions, trips and other items "in exchange for certain official acts."
Abramoff contributed $204,253 to federal candidates since the 2000 election cycle and the Indian tribes he represented gave nearly $4.2 million, according Federal Election Commission reports analyzed by the Internet watchdog group Center for Responsive Politics.
But Maine lawmakers got none of it since at least the 2002 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics and another Internet watchdog, PoliticalMoneyLine.org.
"The actions of Jack Abramoff and his partners are absolutely shameful," said Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine. "I strongly support efforts to stop this type of corruption and hope that this leads to further efforts to reform the campaign finance system."
Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, declined comment on Abramoff's case through a spokesman.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was traveling in Antarctica and couldn't be reached for comment, a spokeswoman said.
But Allen suggested the conviction is a blot on the entire political system. "Underlying the Abramoff corruption is the idea that it's OK to get what you want no matter how much you have to pay for it," he said.
Allen said he hopes Abramoff's guilty pleas prompt discussion of his legislative proposals to change the way the House conducts business.
Allen proposed legislation in December that would prohibit lawmakers from accepting trips from lobbyists, among last perks allowed under ethics reforms of the mid-1990s. Allen would also require time for lawmakers to read bills before voting on them and restrict votes from being held open for hours while leaders twist arms to change results.
"There's a continuum of anti-democratic practices," Allen said. "Some are illegal, and some corrupt the process and make it less fair."
- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Bart Jansen can be contacted at 202-488-1119 or at:
bjansen@pressherald.com
Let's face it - the Dem idiots and the MSM are preaching to the choir - the rest of us have stopped listening.
And it will always come down to the same thing-- "They're corrupt, but MY guy is okay" and they'll vote him back in.
A bi-partisan scandal, from the looks of it now.
Might there be a few more Republicans? Yes.
Are there several big-name Dems involved? Yes.
Boot'em all, if proven guilty, regardless of party.
Dems involved:
Patrick Kennedy
Patty Murray
Harry Reid
Byron Dorgan
Tom Daschle
Dick Gephard
wishful thinking. The GOP Congressmen were victims of an unscrupulous con man, that's all. If people just don't panic, it will blow over in a few months. I wouldn't be surprised to find out the RATS are much deeper into this anyway.
Well, this scandal has potential to do damage - my info is that its a bipartisan scandal, scoundrels on both sides of the ailes. We need to make sure the media doesn't get away with painting it as a GOP problem.
Malkin has details.
http://www.michellemalkin.com/mt/oct05-tb.cgi/3550
We don't need any more stinking rules or laws. Each new one only serves to entrap some Republican because the RATS ignore them all anyway.
Lets keep talking about the $1.7 million that went to the DIMS...
/bad link, try this. Wish Malkin would be permalinks like Powerline does.
http://www.michellemalkin.com/
You forgot Schrillary
Let's face it, even if they find 7 Dims for every Repub, it will be played as if the Repubs are the true dirty guys here.
They already have painted it as a strctly GOP scandal. The GOP is in charge, ergo they shouldn't have allowed the Dems step out of line to get corrupted. That is, will be and all the story.
I'm just going with the ones ID'd in that graphic.
I don't doubt there are others.
Excuse my ignorance on this issue but are we looking at the "congressmen/women" involved looking at jail time or counting only on the people sending them packing at election?
I thought it was a rule of the board that when a poster made refernce to:
Ann Coulter
Michele Malkin
Laura Ingraham (my personal favorite)
That a picture had to accompany the post.
Although Abramoff is a scoundrel for the way he treated his customers I'm not sure what laws have been broken by the lawmakers. They are accepting contributions from a lobbyist and this is shocking?
Here's a list of the Dems...mind you, Repubs are involved too, but I haven't seen that list yet.
* Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) Received At Least – $22,500
* Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) Received At Least – $6,500
* Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) Received At Least – $1,250
* Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) Received At Least – $2,000
* Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Received At Least – $20,250
* Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Received At Least – $21,765
* Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) Received At Least – $7,500
* Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) Received At Least – $12,950
* Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) Received At Least – $8,000
* Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) Received At Least – $7,500
* Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) Received At Least – $14,792
* Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) Received At Least – $79,300
* Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) Received At Least – $14,000
* Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Received At Least – $2,000
* Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) Received At Least – $1,250
* Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) Received At Least – $45,750
* Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) Received At Least – $9,000
* Senator Jim Jeffords (I-VT) Received At Least – $2,000
* Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) Received At Least – $14,250
* Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) Received At Least – $3,300
* Senator John Kerry (D-MA) Received At Least – $98,550
* Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Received At Least – $28,000
* Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT) Received At Least – $4,000
* Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) Received At Least – $6,000
* Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) Received At Least – $29,830
* Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) Received At Least – $14,891
* Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) Received At Least – $10,550
* Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) Received At Least – $78,991
* Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) Received At Least – $20,168
* Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) Received At Least – $5,200
* Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) Received At Least – $7,500
* Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) Received At Least – $2,300
* Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) Received At Least – $3,500
* Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) Received At Least – $68,941
* Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV) Received At Least – $4,000
* Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) Received At Least – $4,500
* Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) Received At Least – $4,300
* Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Received At Least – $29,550
* Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Received At Least – $6,250
* Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) Received At Least – $6,250
Abramoff Lobbying & Political Contributions to Democrats,
per FEC Records
# # # # #
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cmte $423,480
Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte $354,700
Democratic National Cmte $65,720
Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI) $42,500
Patty Murray (D-Wash) $40,980
Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) $36,000
Harry Reid (D-Nev) $30,500
Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) $28,000
Tom Daschle (D-SD) $26,500
Democratic Party of Michigan $23,000
Brad R. Carson (D-Okla) $20,600
Dale E. Kildee (D-Mich) $19,000
Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md) $17,500
Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) $15,500
Democratic Party of Oklahoma $15,000
Chris John (D-La) $15,000
John Breaux (D-La) $13,750
Frank Pallone, Jr (D-NJ) $13,600
Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo) $12,000
Mary L. Landrieu (D-La) $11,500
Barney Frank (D-Mass) $11,100
Max Baucus (D-Mont) $11,000
Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) $10,000
Democratic Party of North Dakota $10,000
Nick Rahall (D-WVa) $10,000
Democratic Party of South Dakota $9,500
Democratic Party of Minnesota $9,000
Ron Kind (D-Wis) $9,000
Peter Deutsch (D-Fla) $8,500
Joe Baca (D-Calif) $8,000
Dick Durbin (D-Ill) $8,000
Xavier Becerra (D-Calif) $7,523
Tim Johnson (D-SD) $7,250
Democratic Party of New Mexico $6,250
Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) $6,000
David E. Bonior (D-Mich) $5,000
Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ) $5,000
Democratic Party of Montana $5,000
Fritz Hollings (D-SC) $5,000
Jay Inslee (D-Wash) $5,000
Thomas P. Keefe Jr. (D-Wash) $5,000
Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md) $5,000
Deborah Ann Stabenow (D-Mich) $5,000
Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) $4,500
Tom Carper (D-Del) $4,000
Kent Conrad (D-ND) $4,000
Jerry Kleczka (D-Wis) $4,000
Sander Levin (D-Mich) $4,000
Robert T. Matsui (D-Calif) $4,000
George Miller (D-Calif) $4,000
Kalyn Cherie Free (D-Okla) $3,500
James L. Oberstar (D-Minn) $3,500
Charles J. Melancon (D-La) $3,100
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) $3,000
Cal Dooley (D-Calif) $3,000
John B. Larson (D-Conn) $3,000
David R. Obey (D-Wis) $3,000
Ed Pastor (D-Ariz) $3,000
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) $3,000
Richard M. Romero (D-NM) $3,000
Brad Sherman (D-Calif) $3,000
Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss) $3,000
Max Cleland (D-Ga) $2,500
Grace Napolitano (D-Calif) $2,500
Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif) $2,500
Bill Luther (D-Minn) $2,250
Gene Taylor (D-Miss) $2,250
Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) $2,000
Ken Bentsen (D-Texas) $2,000
Dan Boren (D-Okla) $2,000
Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn) $2,000
John D. Dingell (D-Mich) $2,000
Doug Dodd (D-Okla) $2,000
Ned Doucet (D-La) $2,000
Lane Evans (D-Ill) $2,000
Sam Farr (D-Calif) $2,000
John Neely Kennedy (D-La) $2,000
Carl Levin (D-Mich) $2,000
Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) $2,000
Nita M. Lowey (D-NY) $2,000
Robert Menendez (D-NJ) $2,000
Adam Schiff (D-Calif) $2,000
Ronnie Shows (D-Miss) $2,000
Adam Smith (D-Wash) $2,000
Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif) $2,000
Mike Thompson (D-Calif) $2,000
Maxine Waters (D-Calif) $2,000
Peter DeFazio (D-Ore) $1,500
Norm Dicks (D-Wash) $1,500
John Kerry (D-Mass) $1,400
Barbara Boxer (D-Calif) $1,000
Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif) $1,000
Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) $1,000
Jim Costa (D-Calif) $1,000
Susan A. Davis (D-Calif) $1,000
Eliot L. Engel (D-NY) $1,000
Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) $1,000
Tim Holden (D-Pa) $1,000
Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) $1,000
Joe Lieberman (D-Conn) $1,000
Jim Maloney (D-Conn) $1,000
David Phelps (D-Ill) $1,000
Charles S. Robb (D-Va) $1,000
Brian David Schweitzer (D-Mont) $1,000
Pete Stark (D-Calif) $1,000
Gloria Tristani (D-NM) $1,000
Derrick B. Watchman (D-Ariz) $1,000
Rick Weiland (D-SD) $1,000
Paul Wellstone (D-Minn) $1,000
Ron Wyden (D-Ore) $1,000
Bob Borski (D-Pa) $720
Shelley Berkley (D-Nev) $500
Howard L. Berman (D-Calif) $500
Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) $500
Democratic Party of Washington $500
Barbara Lee (D-Calif) $500
Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif) $500
Grand Total $1,541,673
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