Have the DeLay/Abramoff tentacles squirmed their way into our heart now?
Nearly three dozen members of Congress, including leaders from both parties, pressed the government to block a Louisiana Indian tribe from opening a casino while the lawmakers collected large donations from rival tribes and their lobbyist, Jack Abramoff.
After receiving "donations" from the Abramoff represented tribes, lawmakers sent letters of intervention to interior secretary Gale Norton which they insist were coincidental.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid sent a letter to Norton on March 5, 2002, also signed by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev. The next day, the Coushattas issued a $5,000 check to Reid's tax-exempt political group, the Searchlight Leadership Fund. A second Abramoff tribe sent another $5,000 to Reid's group. Reid ultimately received more than $66,000 in Abramoff-related donations between 2001 and 2004.
This from an AP article today Abramoff Tribes Donated Funds to Lawmakers... I am depressed...
*Update* At the suggestion of Naniboujou below, this is the email that I sent to Harry's website:
I would like to urge you, as an admirer and supporter to please address quickly, openly, and honestly the $66,000 in donations that the AP maintains your organization received from Abramoff affiliated indian tribes in an article posted today. Perhaps an open community such as Daily Kos would be an appropriate forum.