Hard to believe, isn't it? As the saying goes "All politicians are crooks." As soon as the scandal broke, Republicans were busy trying to implicate Democrats. "Everyone does it," they shouted.
Well, everyone does not do it. In this case, the Democrats were left out. Howard Dean was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer, and this is part of their conversation:
BLITZER: Should Democrats who took money from Jack Abramoff, who has now pleaded guilty to bribery charges, among other charges, a Republican lobbyist in Washington, should the Democrat who took money from him give that money to charity or give it back?
DEAN: There are no Democrats who took money from Jack Abramoff, not one, not one single Democrat. Every person named in this scandal is a Republican. Every person under investigation is a Republican. Every person indicted is a Republican. This is a Republican finance scandal. There is no evidence that Jack Abramoff ever gave any Democrat any money. And we've looked through all of those FEC reports to make sure that's true.
BLITZER: But through various Abramoff-related organizations and outfits, a bunch of Democrats did take money that presumably originated with Jack Abramoff.
DEAN: That's not true either. There's no evidence for that either. There is no evidence...
BLITZER: What about Senator Byron Dorgan?
DEAN: Senator Byron Dorgan and some others took money from Indian tribes. They're not agents of Jack Abramoff. There's no evidence that I've seen that Jack Abramoff directed any contributions to Democrats. I know the Republican National Committee would like to get the Democrats involved in this. They're scared. They should be scared. They haven't told the truth. They have misled the American people. And now it appears they're stealing from Indian tribes. The Democrats are not involved in this.
People wonder why Democrats talk about the Republican Culture of Corruption. Here's your answer. Every time a Republican is accused of anything, the answer is always that it's the fault of Democrats or liberals or Bush haters. Republicans are as pure as the driven snow. They are the party of moral values. And when Republicans are caught red-handed, then they blithely say that Democrats do it too. They don't realize they are admitting they are crooks; they claim Democrats are crooks too.
This scheme has worked before. But not this time. It is obvious that no Democrat is involved. The scandal is entirely Republican. This is all part of the Republican Culture of Corruption.
Let's vote the bums out!
