They are running to return money received from Abramoff
*
Yes, the past has come back to haunt the elected lawmakers and their aides who were wined and dined by Jack Abramoff. What other tidbits they accepted from him will come out as the investigation moves forward. There is not much of a difference between the Democrat and Republican hogs who swill at the trough of legalized bribery that goes on under the name of campaign financing but Republicans are the primary recipients of favors from PACs simply because they have more clout to do what the lobbyists want. So, the Republicans have more to worry about the Abramoff affair. Under reverse circumstances many Democrats would have done the same. They are all part of the system that breeds corruption and encourages its growth.

Definition of bribery (Answers.com):

"Bribery is the practice of offering a professional or an authority person money or other favours in order to circumvent ethics or other rules in a variety of situations. It is a form of corruption and is generally illegal, or at least cause for sanctions from one's employer or professional organisation."

The headlines are revealing.

Margaret Carlson, Bloomberg News
Abramoff fed Washington's outstretched hands

  • For every sport, Abramoff had a skybox; for every occasion, his very own swank watering hole, where the drinks were on the house. The saga loops from the elegant golf course of St. Andrew's in Scotland to Florida's Gold Coast, where a casino owner who fell out with Abramoff was murdered.

  • With Abramoff having cut his deal with prosecutors, the scandal shifts from the givers to the receivers.

Washington Post, Jonathan Weisman
Bush to Give Up $6,000 In Abramoff Contributions
  • Republican Party officials said yesterday that President Bush will give up $6,000 in campaign contributions connected to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, joining an expansive list of politicians who have shed more than half a million dollars in tainted campaign cash.
Forbes/Associated Press
Key Events in the Abramoff Investigation
  • Jan. 3: Abramoff pleads guilty in Washington to mail fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion charges in federal court in connection with his lobbying work. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., announces he will give money received from Abramoff to charity.
  • Jan. 4: President Bush and DeLay announce they will give money they received from Abramoff to charity.
Panic is palpable in Washington, DC. The venal politicians are trying to distance themselves from Abramoff. It is a bit late for some of them.
“A government, for protecting business only, is but a carcass, and soon falls by its own corruption and decay.”
---Amos Bronson Alcott (American reformer, Philosopher and Teacher, 1799-1888)