Post by Moses on Jan 7, 2006 10:03:45 GMT -5
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HoustonChronicle.com -- www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: National
Jan. 6, 2006, 1:13AM
Parties not running from scandal
Both Democrats and Republicans are dealing with the controversy by embracing it
By JULIE MASON and BENNETT ROTH
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - In a rush to turn adversity into political advantage, both major parties are hashing out strategies to limit damage from the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal — largely by embracing it.
Because more Republicans, including Rep. Tom DeLay of Sugar Land, are linked to the disgraced former dealmaker, they should take the lead in reforming the lobbying system, GOP consultants and independent analysts said Thursday.
"Republicans have to demonstrate that they are taking this scandal seriously, that they have learned from it and are reforming the system on their own," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
Action, not speeches
Michael Deaver, a former top aide to President Reagan, said congressional leaders must address the issue through concrete legislative action, not just speeches.
"There has to be some sort of dramatic action to get media and public to focus on," he said.
Democratic leaders, meanwhile, are vowing to use "the culture of corruption" among Republicans as a campaign theme to win back control of Congress in the November general election.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said of the Abramoff case, "Sadly, it is not a surprise because this Republican Congress is the most corrupt in history and the American people are paying the price."
The culture "in which members of Congress cozy up to lobbyists and cronies has resulted in the American people paying higher prescription drug prices, higher gas and home heating costs," she said, "and has produced the failed Republican efforts to provide relief to survivors of Hurricane Katrina." [True!]
Republicans scoff at such remarks, pointing to corruption scandals that sprang from the actions of Democratic lawmakers, especially when Democrats were the majority in Congress.
Indeed, in congressional elections in the middle of presidential terms, when turnout is typically low, Democrats face a formidable obstacle: a jaded public.
Polls show that nearly half the American public already believes most of Congress is corrupt. [And the public is correct]
Political strategists are waiting to hear what names and details Abramoff is giving to the FBI under a plea deal in which his sentence for conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion is reduced.
Details of the charges against the lobbyist indicate he has information that could lead to bribery charges against congressmen and their staffs.
DeLay is among the lawmakers who accepted gifts, campaign contributions and/or lavish overseas trips from Abramoff. The congressman says they were legal.
Too soon to scapegoat
Abramoff worked with several former DeLay aides, including Michael Scanlon, who has pleaded guilty to related conspiracy charges in a similar deal with investigators.
With much more information yet to come from Abramoff, Scanlon and prosecutors, political experts warned that it's too soon for either party to scapegoat individual members.
"Any effort to push this under the rug, to say this is just one bad apple, that's baloney," former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich said.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., "need to take the lead in saying to the country, 'We are going to clean this mess up,' " Gingrich said.
The White House has distanced itself from the scandal, returning $6,000 in campaign contributions to the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign from Abramoff; his wife, Pam; and a client.
Whit Ayres, an Atlanta-based GOP consultant, said President Bush eventually will have to join Republican congressional leaders in promoting reform if the party is to fend off Democratic attacks on ethics problems.
julie.mason@chron.com bennett.roth@chron.com
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HoustonChronicle.com -- www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: National
This article is: www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/3569014.html