Yesterday at Preemptive Karma,
Kevin picked up on the idea that lefty blogs are ceding the noise machine on Iran to the rightwingers. So being a researcher at heart, I decided to check out what the blogs were saying about Iran.
While sifting through the drivel that passes for Instapundit, my eye caught a post referencing the Howell-Post-
Dems-got-money-from-Abramhoff story.
Reynolds/Instapundit had provided a link to Kokonut Pundits, who used a Yahoo cache to retrieve some of the comments that had been removed by the Post.
In an effort to back up the Post's Abramoff-gave-to-Dems story, Mike McConnell of Kokonut Pundits writes:
The real killer to this whole thing? Abramoff's had lists sent to tribes telling them or directing them on what members of Congress were to receive specific amounts. WaPo even reported this back in 2004.
The fees and $2.9 million in federal political contributions Abramoff advised the tribes to make, two-thirds of it to Republicans, have led to battles in some tribes. Some tribe members question why their leaders approved such payments.
Abramoff also directed tribes to donate to several obscure foundations that appear to have no connection to Indian concerns, including a think tank in Rehoboth Beach, Del., set up by Scanlon.
The revelations led to Abramoff's ouster in March from Greenberg Traurig, the law firm where he led one of Washington's most successful lobbying groups. Greenberg Traurig said it acted after Abramoff "disclosed to the firm for the first time personal transactions and related conduct which are unacceptable to the firm."
This is the proof from the Post that Democrats took money from Jack Abramoff?
Nowhere in this entire Post piece is there a discussion of Democrats getting Abramoff money. In fact, I couldn't find the word "Democrat" in the entire story.
This is downright irresponsible and lazy. Republicans are desperate to taint Democrats in the Abramoff scandal. They should be desperate, IMO. They're in one hell of a mess.
Attempting to source cite material in the way that McConnell did is unseemly and undermines any cred he might have as a blogger. But I doubt that will be the reality in the rightwing blogosphere. McConnell has just made a name for himself by creating links where none truely exist. Republican desperation is crying out for these links. McConnell is feeding the beast.
Obviously, rightwing blogs have a tendency to throw crap against the wall and see if it sticks. But at what point do these bloggers have to pay for their intellectual laziness? Anyone who reads using left to right progression can plainly see the cited article has nothing to do with the Democrats.