Summary
As Congress readies itself for possible indictments from the Abramoff scandal, it would be useful to remember some recent history. Democrats stand to gain politically by casting the scandal as the inevitable result of Republican corruption. Insofar as Jack Abramoff's felonious activity was primarily with Republicans, they may be right - and we wouldn't begrudge a political party from exploiting a campaign opportunity. Yet all this talk about partisan advantage distorts the true nature of the problem. To understand it, we'll have to remind Democrats about their not-so-distant past.
As former Wall Street Journal reporter Brooks Jackson documented in his masterful look into Capitol Hill corruption, "Honest Graft," the system that allowed a man like Mr. Abramoff to flourish largely was built by former Rep. Tony Coelho, California Democrat, in the 1980s. Allowed inside Mr. Coelho's Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Mr. Jackson saw first hand how donations were wrung from corporate political action committees, which in turn expected a return on their investment, often in the form of legislative gifts.See the full content of this document
Extract
The Tony Coelho Factor
By 1978, Mr. Jackson writes, "the cost of staying in office was rising rapidly." Indeed, "the incumbents of 1978 had spent on the average only $8...
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