[quote]100meters wrote:
hedo wrote:
Abramof gave to both sides. His contributions to BOTH sides were distributed through various channels. The statment that Democrats recieved no money from Abramof is a thinly vieled lie to mislead someone who isn’t willing to read any deeper. It is the core issue of Dean and the Deaniacs for the past week.
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2006/01/40-0f-45-democratic-senators-took.html
40 0f 45 Democratic Senators Took Abramoff Money!
Democrats at all levels have attacked Republicans for ties to indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his Indian tribal clients. They do this despite the fact that 40 of the 45 members of the Senate Democrat Caucus have taken money from Abramoff, his associates, and Indian tribe clients.
Senator Byron Dorgan, the Vice Chairman Of The Senate Panel Currently Investigating Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, received at least $79,300 from Abramoff and his associates and clients.
Dorgan even held a fundraiser in an Abramoff Skybox:
The Choctaw tribe, an Abramoff client that was a primary focus of the Senate hearings, sponsored a fundraiser on March 28, 2001, for Dorgan’s political group, the Great Plains Leadership Fund. The event treated Dorgan and his donors to a bird’s-eye view of a professional hockey game from a skybox Abramoff leased in Washington’s MCI Center, while lobbyists got the chance to bend his ear.
Dorgan says he will not step down from the investigating committee. (same article)
That oh, so popular, MCI Skybox…
Tom Harkin paid the tribe for use of its Skybox and he failed to account properly for two fundraisers he held in lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s skybox at Washington??s MCI Center in 2002 and 2003.
Washington State Senator Patty Murray received $14,980 from 2002 to 2004 from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe in Michigan(?)
Harry Reid has declined to comment on whether he attended any functions there. But, between 2001 and 2004 Reid received $61,000 from donors with links to Abramoff, Reid’s office confirmed.
Capital Eye has the monstrous list of all of the recipients of Abramoff’s funds.
I hope Howard Dean gets this information before he makes any more mistakes.
Again factually false. No Democrat received money from Abramoff, not one. Only Republicans have been implicated in any wrong doing. This has been debunked and explained already. The reason Dean has been debunking this lie for the past week, is because the RNC has been pushing this lie for the past week.
It is not illegal or improper in any way (as the RNC well knows) to recieve contributions from lobbyists, etc. It is illegal to do so in return for official actions, which is what republicans have been accused of.
This phrasing is a lie:
“Abramoff and his associates and clients”
This phrasing is also a lie:
“40 0f 45 Democratic Senators Took Abramoff Money!”
Abramoff and his wife have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars–NONE to Democrats. Did Abramoff give money to various PACs? Yep. And did some of those PACs give money to Democrats? Yes. Is it all perfectly legal? Yes.
The correct headline should read “Not a single democrat recieved money from Abramoff, nor has a single democrat been implicated in accepting bribes in return for official actions!”
or
“0 of 45 Senate Democrats received Abramoff’s money!”
or
“Dems so far not in any way involved in Abramoff/Republican corruption scandal!”
etc.[/quote]
or
“Both Republicans and Democrats took money from Abramoff. Democrats try and spin it for politcal advantage.”
Too believe that the Democrats will not be implicated in this scandal is naive.