Abramoff Continued

Daschle isn't the only one that received money from Abramoff's coffers.  Tim Johnson and the SD Democratic Party has also:

The South Dakota Democrat Party (SDDP) has repeatedly attacked Sen. John Thune for receiving campaign contributions from a Washington lobbyist, but the SDDP has failed to mention that indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff's tribal clients made contributions to former Senator Tom Daschle, Sen. Tim Johnson and the South Dakota Democrat Party.

“The South Dakota Democratic Party, Sen. Daschle and Sen. Johnson received thousands of dollars in contributions from Native American tribes channeled through Jack Abramoff’s lobbying firm,” said South Dakota Republican Party Executive Director Max Wetz. “The Democrats should clean up their own house and examine their own bank accounts before they worry about others.”

According to Washington Post reports, Daschle received more than $40,000 from five tribes that were part of Abramoff's network. Johnson accepted $7,250 in 2002 from three tribes that were Abramoff clients. And the South Dakota Democrat Party lists $8,500 in donations from Abramoff clients from 2000-2004.

It's funny that the Democrats have tried to paint Abramoff as a GOP tool and to hold Republicans to a higher moral standard, while not recognizing that one-third of Abramoff's largest beneficiaries were prominent Democrats.  Of course, these facts are left out when it happens to be particularly inconvenient.  Ed Morrisey of Captain's Quarters notes:

The next time a Democrat talks about the culture of corruption, ask him or her when Harry Reid will step down from his leadership role in the Senate. The culture unfortunately pervades DC politics without regard to the R or D after the name; it relies on human nature and greed, one of our least partisan and most unfortunate impulses. Talking about it as a partisan issue may well be the rankest and most foolish demagoguery found in our political debate.

He also noted earlier:

Of course, this is the danger of playing holier-than-thou with baseless ethics complaints. The Democrats have targeted Tom DeLay not because he's committed crimes, but because of his political effectiveness. Ronnie Earle has chased DeLay for years, and still hasn't filed an indictment despite his highly partisan effort to get him behind bars. Howard Dean claims that's where DeLay belongs, and both he and Nancy Pelosi have used Jack Abramoff as a chief reason for their ire.

Now, all of a sudden, the Democrats have become very, very silent. Those that have commented claim no knowledge of Abramoff's involvement with the six Indian tribes that donated tens of thousands of dollars to their campaigns between 1999 and 2004 through Abramoff's recommendations. While the biggest winner in this handout festival was Republican Conrad Burns ($141K), one-third of the largest recipients were Democrats.