If you guys want to win in November, you're going to have to do more than whine about the "culture of corruption." In doing so, you're ignoring the fact that career politician Democrats (like Peter DeFazio) are very much involved in taking money from lobbyists and unions. Have you forgotten that DeFazio (and many,many other Ds) took money from Jack Abramoff? Associating Feldkamp with DeLay will only get you so far, especially now that DeLay has resigned. Nobody will be talking about DeLay in November, and until the Democrats can prove they have better ideas (as opposed to giving the unions everything they want and bitching about Bush), they will continue to lose.

Former Salem Staffer:

If you consult the campaign finance records, I think you'll find that Abramoff gave $0.00 (zero dollars) to Democrats. No Democratic candidate ever received any money from Jack Abramoff. Lot's of Republicans did, though.

Two comments: 1) Does FSS have FEC records to show that Jack Abramoff personally wrote a check to DeFazio for Congress? If you don't have that specific record, don't make accusations. Did an Indian tribe which hired Abramoff make a contribution? Did a client of his lobbying firm (or an employee of the lobbying firm) make a donation? Then say so. This "Abramoff-related contributions" scam should be shown for what it was.

Which leads to 2) Today I was driven home from the auto repair shop where I had to leave my car for repairs. The driver started spouting about politics in a way that I suspect incumbents don't want to hear.

"Time to stop arguing and get things done. We need politicians who will mow the grass and put the roof on, not ones who just keep telling us what is wrong with other people. Especially on meth which they let become such a problem. Don't they know that prevention programs cost less than incarcaration? So why did they cut the funding?".

Put that man in a room with Karen "the voters have spoken on Measure 30" Minnis and give him the information on how much she paid her senior staffers and how much money top level administrators make. Or put him in a room with some DC Republicans who say "we're better than Democrats who oppose the Patriot Act" esp. after he sees that OPB special where Brian Baird talks about how DC ignored meth for so long.

I told this driver (when I could get a word in edgewise--he was really angry) that I knew of a legislative challenger involved in "No Meth, Not In My Neighborhood" and he said that sounded like a good person to have in public office.

Bert-

Whether or not Abramoff made DIRECT contributions to Democrats is irrelevant, seeing as how his clients most certainly did. My point was that the "culture of corruption" has more to do with career politicians of BOTH PARTIES, and that to claim this is limited to just the Republican Party is the pot calling the kettle black. Here's some information from a preliminary search at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monetary_influence_of_Jack_Abramoff, to remind you all that established Democrats are very much involved in all of this.

LT- DeFazio does come up in this, as he did return contributions from Abramoff-related groups. This information was very well-publicized; I'm surprised you weren't aware of it.

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid

Between 2001 and 2004 Sen. Harry Reid received $61,000 from donors with whom after the fact had hired Abramoff later on, Reid's office confirmed, and has decided not to return any donations. In a February 9, 2006 Washington Post article, Reid's office acknowledged "routine contacts" with Abramoff's lobbying partners during this time. Reid also intervened on government matters in ways that Abramoff's tribal clients might have deemed helpful, once opposing legislation on the Senate floor and four times sending letters pressing the Bush administration on tribal issues. Reid collected donations around the time of each action. Reid's office said none of the senator's actions were affected by donations or done for Abramoff. Reid sent a letter they wrote on March 5, 2002, to Interior Secretary Gale Norton asking her to reject an application from the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, which was seeking to open a casino outside its Louisiana reservation. An Abramoff client fighting the Jena casino, the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, donated $5,000 to Reid's political action committee, the Searchlight Leadership Fund, the next day, at Abramoff's request. While Abramoff never donated directly to Reid, the lobbyist did instruct the tribe to send $5,000 to the fund. The Washington Post reported that Abramoff sent a list to the tribe titled "Coushatta Requests" recommending donations to campaigns or groups for 50 lawmakers. Alongside Reid's name, Abramoff wrote, "5,000 (Searchlight Leadership Fund) Senate Majority Whip." Reid was Democratic whip at the time. About the same time, Reid sent a letter to the Interior Department helpful to the tribe, records show. His March 5, 2002, letter pressed the agency to reject a casino proposed by a potential rival to the Coushattas, the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians. Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) also signed the letter. Future Abramoff coworker Edward Ayoob worked for Reid from June 1997 to March 2002 variously as legislative counsel, tax counsel, appropriations manager, foreign affairs adviser and chief aide on judicial nominations, according to a biography on his employer's Web site. Ayoob in 2002 was hired as a lobbyist by Greenberg Traurig LLP, where his work included teaming with Abramoff and other lobbyists on client matters. According to the Greenberg Traurig website, Greenberg Traurig has over 1400 lobbyists. Abramoff left Greenberg Traurig in March 2004 after the Senate and the FBI began investigating his activities while Ayoob left Greenberg Traurig in spring 2005. Ayoob is now a senior lobbyist at Barnes & Thornburg LLP. Reid downplayed Ayoob's role, saying Ayoob was a legislative assistant on his staff and not an adviser. Ayoob and Reid met "from time to time" after Ayoob became a lobbyist, according to a Reid spokesperson. She said she did not know when they last spoke or how Reid would characterize their relationship today.[27] The Washington Post has reported that the aide later helped throw a fundraiser for Reid at Abramoff's firm that raised money from several of Abramoff's lobbying partners. [

U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND)

Senator Byron Dorgan, the senior Democrat on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, had received at least $79,300 from associates and clients whom had later hired Abramoff to work for them.

After several news articles appeared detailing the tribal donations, Dorgan wrote a news release replying to several claims he said were erroneous, including the allegation he received money directly from Abramoff. In the release, Dorgan said, "The fact is I have never met Abramoff and have never received a campaign contribution from him. If he was directing any of his clients to make a political contribution to me, it was done without my knowledge."

Dorgan says, in the release, that his activities in support of several tribal programs are continuing his trend of supporting Native American issues since being elected, and do not stem from Abramoff-related campaign contributions.

In December 2005, Dorgan returned tribal donations totaling $67,000.

U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)

According to the FEC, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) failed to account properly for two fundraisers he held in Abramoff’s skybox at Washington’s MCI Center in 2002 and 2003, according to filings with the FEC and the Iowa Democrat's spokeswoman. U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) Sen. Max Baucus gave $18,892 in Abramoff-related money he received to tribal colleges in Montana.

U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) On December 13, 2005 Sen. Byron Dorgan reported that he would return $67,000 in questionable donations from Abramoff's clients (the entirety of his "Abramoff-related money"). Dorgan was quoted as saying he would not "knowingly keep even one dollar in contributions if there is even a remote possibility that they could have been the result of any action Mr. Abramoff might have taken."

U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY)

On January 5, 2006, Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign announced that it would contribute $2,000 in donations from American Indian tribe clients of lobbyist Jack Abramoff to a New York charity.

U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio(D-OR) On January 9, 2006, the office of Rep. Peter DeFazio announced he will return $1,500 he received from out-of-state Indian tribes represented by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) Sen. Patty Murray received $35,000 from tribal donors who once used Abramoff's services. Murray will not return the donations, saying in a letter to the Seattle Times, "I will not rush to scapegoat those tribes who have already been victimized by Jack Abramoff."

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) Sen. Harry Reid received $61,000 from Indian tribes represented by Abramoff's firm, Reid's office confirmed, and has decided not to return any donations.

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) Rep. Charles Rangel of Harlem, who received $36,000 in donations from Abramoff clients, says he's keeping the money. A Rangel spokesman say Abramoff's guilty pleas won't affect Rangel's decision.

Pat-

You basically just illustrated my point with regards to DeLay and Feldkamp. "Guilt by association," indeed. Unfortunately, these things work both ways.

Hello now for your information Tom Delay was a great man of faith that stood up for God in Government and the ACLU tore him down as that is what the ACLU does protect Brokenback mountain movie to get it lawsuited to have on our theaters they will help protect homosexual rights but what mind you have the aclu done to help Tom Delay.Tom Delay is decent Man who stood for family faith God moral and values and you aclu people can't handle I hope that Jim Feldcamp wins the congressmen district agains't peter defazio others have protections and rights.as well.

Hello well since the ACLU is suppose to be civil liberties union protecting people what have they done to help Tom Delay?? when he was in trouble did you do anything to help or protect him or did you tear him down. you have also lawsuited to put broken back Mountain in the movie theaters where the theaters had to play it more the End of the spear movie which didn't get much time in the movie theater at all.Speaking of I am tired of our tax dollars paying for the ACLU that happens to only be special rights for homosexuals,What about normal married couples rights in Government I hope Jim feldkamp wins the congress I would love to see peter defazio beat and our tax dollars go in the right place and not for special interest group or are you going to take Jim feldkamp down when he hasn't done anything yet????Just because he is running for congress???

If Republicans were found to have received huge contributions from Osama bin Laden, they would attack Democrats for taking money from Americans with Arabic sounding names.

Even allowing for the syllabic free-flow and apparent hatred of punctuation, I have to admit Tammy sets a new low bar for post-adolescent bloggers.

Truly it can now be said that technology empowers the illiterate (and in this case incomprehensible).

Hell, I'm glad she wrote the second diatribe and included the links. Otherwise I would have chalked it up to satirical agitprop.

Oh, what brave new world that has such people in it....

By the bye, is it just me or does Atkinson's new logo (which troublingly is popping up all around my SW PDX neighborhood) seem to represent a fusion of WWII Army Air Corps insignia and Angelic appendanges?

I find it kinda creepy.

Duke, It does not surprise me that something that evokes military and religious symbology is "creepy" to someone on BlueOregon.