A Dying Story?

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In a editorial on the pages of the Houston Chronicle the author details the hypocrisy that is Sen. Reid:

WASHINGTON – Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who has helped lead the effort to paint Rep. Tom DeLay and the Republican Party as corrupt, faced increased criticism Friday about his extensive contacts with the lobbyist who set off the unfolding congressional ethics scandal.

Reid, D-Nev., who last month compared DeLay to a gangster for his connections with high-profile lobbyist Jack Abramoff, received $68,000 for his campaigns and political committees from Abramoff clients and associates.

Around the time of the contributions, Reid wrote letters to the U.S. Interior Department urging action that would benefit an Indian tribe client of Abramoff’s. In addition, Reid’s staff had extensive contacts with lobbyists working for Abramoff, according to documents and e-mails disclosed by the Associated Press.

The fresh revelations about Reid could undermine the Democrats’ efforts to make what they call the GOP’s “culture of corruption” a major issue in this year’s congressional elections.

“The fact that he is a leader in the Senate and is going to have to be the spokesman for these things, it does make it a little harder and he may have to back off,” said John Fortier, a political scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

[…]On Jan. 13, Reid wrote in an opinion piece in the Houston Chronicle, “Our nation’s capital has been overrun by organized crime ? Tom DeLay style. The gangsters are the lobbyists, cronies and lawmakers who have banded together and abused their power to serve their own interests.”

Michael Connelly, a spokesman for DeLay, said the Texas Republican now feels sorry for Reid: “Hypocrisy comes at a high price, and it looks like the senator’s bill has come due.”

Republican political groups were swift to label Reid a hypocrite.

“It’s time for Senator Reid to stop the charade, cut a $68,000 check, and pronounce his ethics crusade dead in the water,” said Brian Nick, spokesman for the National Republican Senate Committee.

[…]An Abramoff lobbying team that worked with Democrats met with top Reid staff members more than 20 times in 2001 on issues critical to Abramoff clients, according to invoices of Abramoff’s lobbying firm obtained from government officials. Shortly before and after at least one meeting, Abramoff’s law firm and an Abramoff deputy sent checks to Reid’s re-election committee.

Do you have a feeling the MSM will now put this story on the back pages? You can bet your ass this is what will happen. Recall the Enron scandal. They screamed and stomped their feet about the Republican involvement in the scandal. Once some Democratic names got mentioned suddenly the story was nowhere to be found.

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Reid should now step down from his leadership post while an investigation looks into the matter…

Ha! A joke to be sure. Chalk up another difference in the conduct, standards and ethics between the two political parties.

I don’t know…sometimes it seems these people live in an alternate universe where everything they have done in the past shouldn’t matter to anyone. Only those activities by OTHERS matter.

What’s amazing is that, the whole time Reid was denouncing Republicans regarding Abramoff, he must have known that his own connections would come out. The only way he could engage in that lie is if he knew his friends in the press would submerge the story.