Abramoff

I talked to a friend today who worked for a consulting firm in DC a few short years ago.  My friend knows some of the people involved in the Abramoff scandal. It is her opinion that Tom Delay was at least highly imprudent in his dealings with Abramoff, if not necessarily criminally negligent.  This seems also to be the conclusion of National Review.  They suggest Delay stay out of Republican House leadership until the Abramoff cloud passes, even if Delay is exonerated on the charges he now faces in Texas, as he likely will be.  It seems as though Abramoff was starting phony charities to funnel money to those close to Delay so as to gain influence on particular pieces of legislation.  Abramoff was particularly fond of using religious conservatives as fronts for his not-so-Christian activities (see this story, for example).  My guess, and it is just a guess, is that Delay might of been egregiously stupid, but not criminal. Some people struggle with modifiers, so let me be clear that when I call Tom Delay "egregiously stupid" I am not complimenting him. 

As we see below, Republicans, suspecting that one of their leaders is going to end up looking really bad, are trying diversionary tactics.  I guess if I was a Democrat I would try to make hay out of the Delay connection, and if I was a Republican I would try to tar the Democrats with some of this dirt (is that a mixed metaphor?).  President Bush and others are donating money from Abramoff sources to charity, which seems like a wise and decent move.  I suppose others getting money should consider doing the same, but it is merely a publicity gesture.  Does anyone honestly think that Tim Johnson, who raised over $6 million for his 2002 race, was corrupted by the $7,250 he received from Abramoff sources?  I seriously doubt it.  Not anymore than John Thune was corrupted by the $2,000 he received from Abramoff out of $16 million for the 2004 race.  But if it makes us all feel better for them to return the money, then by all means engage in silly and useless public gestures. By the way, you can go here to see a list of all recipients of Abramoff money.