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Hey Buddy, Can You Spare 360,000 Dimes?
In the wake of Jack Abramoff's guilty plea, a teensy matter that's been unevenly reported is that Abramoff-connected money went not only to Republicans, but to both sides of the aisle. Salivating Democrats may soon find that any ensuing Congressional bloodletting turns out to be bipartisan.
Clearly, on balance, there are more GOP lawmakers lately garnering unwanted attention in association with the Abramoff matter. The actual breakdown of steered campaign funds, however, according to the Center for Responsive Politics was $2,886,088 for Republicans and $1,541,673 for Democrats, over the last four election cycles. Not so one-sided after all.
Further, here in New York, Abramoff-steered dollars found their way to Democrats' pockets far more often than not.
Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)
$36,000 Tom Reynolds (R-NY)
$7,000 Nita M. Lowey (D-NY)
$2,000 John E. Sweeney (R-NY)
$2,000 Rick A. Lazio (R-NY)
$1,250 Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY)
$1,000 Eliot L. Engel (D-NY)
$1,000 Felix J. Grucci Jr. (R-NY)
$1,000
Assuming the CRP figures are accurate, that's 78% of the funds going to Democrats.
What's more, Clinton, Sweeney, and Lowey have all stated publicly that these funds would be returned or given to charity. Meanwhile, Charlie Rangel, by far the biggest Congressional beneficiary of Abramoff's clients from New York, has not followed suit. On the topic of his refusal to give up the Abramoff-affiliated funds, Rangel added:
"Don't know him, never met him, never took a dime from him," said the senior member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee.
Rangel said he has received political and financial support from Native American tribes since his arrival in Congress in the early 1970s because of his activism on Indian sovereignty issues, not gaming. He said, "What he has done is contaminate all the Native American tribes and they all got screwed by him."
Here are the dimes Charlie did take from Abramoff clients:
Contributions to Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)
| Recipient | Donor | Total | Cycle |
| National Leadership PAC, Leadership PAC of Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) | Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians | $5,000 | 2004 |
| Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) | Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians | $1,000 | 2002 |
| National Leadership PAC, Leadership PAC of Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) | Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians | $2,500 | 2000 |
| Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) | Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians | $500 | 2000 |
| National Leadership PAC, Leadership PAC of Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) | Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians | $10,000 | 2004 |
| Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) | Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians | $4,000 | 2004 |
| National Leadership PAC, Leadership PAC of Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) | Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians | $5,000 | 2002 |
| Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) | Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians | $2,000 | 2002 |
| National Leadership PAC, Leadership PAC of Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) | Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians | $5,000 | 2000 |
| Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) | Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians | $1,000 | 2000 |
Elsewhere:
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Conservative Outpost
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Previously:
Handcrafted by Flip on January 5, 2006 |
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