Today's Columbus Dispatch falls into line smearing Reid over the Boxing Commission credentials he was given. TPMMuckraker has done a great job rebutting this story, but it lives on...
As a Dispatch subscriber, I'm going to be letting them know what I think. I hope other folks will let 'em know too. The address is letters@dispatch.com
Low blow
Democratic leader in Senate accepts boxing freebies from commission that regulates sport
Monday, June 05, 2006
Democrats hope to win in November by portraying Republicans as crooks. But that can work only as long as Democratic officeholders don't step in the muck, too.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, among the most strident critics of what Democrats call a "Republican culture of corruption," has undercut his effectiveness on this issue by accepting free ringside tickets from the Nevada Athletic Commission for three boxing matches between 2003 and 2005.
Making this worse than the usual case of a senator pocketing freebies is that Reid has proposed legislation to federally regulate boxing. Thus the state commission, which wants to protects its turf, had a strong motivation to influence him.
The senator could have avoided this ethical lapse by paying for the tickets. That's what Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., did. He forked over $1,400 for his ringside seat at a 2004 championship bout he attended with Reid. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., accepted free tickets, but at least he already had recused himself from considering Reid's boxing legislation because Ensign's father worked for a Las Vegas hotel that hosted prizefights.
Rather than apologize and pay the several thousand dollars that the tickets cost, Reid tried to excuse his behavior by saying he was studying how his proposed legislation would affect boxing in his home state. "Anyone from Nevada would say I'm glad he is there taking care of the state's No. 1 businesses." Presumably, he was referring to gambling and boxing, which go hand in glove.
Reid, a former amateur boxer and fight fan, already is well-acquainted with how this sport operates in Nevada.
Senate ethics rules allow members to accept gifts from state agencies as long as the gratuities aren't intended to influence decisions. Marc Ratner, the commission's executive director, said the free tickets were offered to show senators that the Nevada commission runs a tight ship and needs no federal oversight of boxing.
Both parties have had their share of Congress members who are ethically challenged. Rep. Bob Ney of Heath and former Reps. Randy "Duke" Cunningham of California and Tom De-Lay of Texas are Republican examples. The most-recent case, and in some ways most interesting, involves Democratic Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana. The FBI is investigating Jefferson's alleged involvement in a bribery scheme and says it found $90,000 of bribe money in the congressman's freezer.
Reid's political campaign committee had accepted money from crooked lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and his office had a number of contacts with Abramoff's employees. This unsavory association didn't keep Reid from becoming the point man on ripping Republicans for ethical violations.
Clearly, he doesn't apply those high standards to himself.
For background on these allegations, check out TPMMuckraker's Reid archive or Media Matters.
Some points to make to the Dispatch:
* Reid received credentials, not tickets. It would have been illegal for Reid to pay for them.
* There was obviously no quid pro quo. Reid continued to support the legislation that the Nevada Boxing Commission opposed.
* Reid never received money from Jack Abramoff. See TPM
* The case of Rep. Jefferson (D-LA)is hardly "most interesting." Most silly, perhaps, but Jefferson's corruption is dwarfed by Delay, Cunningham, and Ney.