Speaking of pressing one's luck this morning: Super-Lobbyist Jack Abramoff is pleading guilty in exchange for his cooperation in a government investigation. It is expected that his testimony will aid in the filing of charges against quite a few current and recent legislators and their staff members. One report says there may be as many as 20 indictments, which could lead to a fair number of Senators and/or Congresspeople deciding that though they're absolutely innocent, this would be a good time to resign and spend more time with their families.
Congressman Bob Ney is the only cohort identified in the case so far, though Abramoff was known to have close ties to Tom DeLay. Both those men are powerful Republicans so today, we have Liberal websites salivating at the thought that there will be more G.O.P. superstars on the hit list. Meanwhile, Conservative websites are selling the notion that if there is any honesty in the world, this will be viewed as a bi-partisan scandal since Abramoff also gave cash to some Democrats. I'm not sure that's quite accurate since by some reports, few if any Dems got money directly from Abramoff, though a number prospered indirectly.
Either way, it's wrong…and it's about time politicians of all kind saw that there can be accountability (i.e., prison time) for selling out the public trust for lobbyist dollars. I don't care what party they belong to or even which party did more of it in this particular case. I mean, if Democrats took less or took it indirectly, that may just be because Democrats are not in power and therefore not positioned to do as much for donors as Republicans. I also think that if I were a crooked politician — a life's goal that seems less and less attainable with each passing year — I'd feel a lot safer about taking bribes if my party controlled the government. So even if a lot more Republicans get swept up in the Abramoff investigation, that doesn't mean Democrats didn't or wouldn't. Throw all the rascals out, I say.