Like many traditional media outlets, my local paper, the
Times Herald-Record has inaccurately reported that Jack Abramoff has been a bipartisan criminal. I wrote them the following letter to try to get a correction. I encourage you to do the same for your own local media sources.
In both an editorial and a Doug Cunningham column, the Record has printed that lobbyist and confessed criminal Jack Abramoff has given money to both Republicans and Democrats. This is not true.
Campaign and political action committee contributions are a matter of public record. Between 1992 and 2005, Abramoff personally donated $172,933 to Republican candidates and $88,985 to conservative special interests. He donated nothing to Democrats.
Republicans are trying to confuse the general public by saying that clients of Abramoff's lobbying firm donated money to both Republican and Democratic causes. However, such organizations are legally allowed to choose what candidates and PACs they wish to support. There is no evidence that Abramoff ever directed a client to donate to a Democratic politician or group. The same cannot be said for Republicans.
The Republican party owns Jack Abramoff fully. Just like he used to own them.
It would be good of the Record and its columnists to remember that, while they are entitled to their own opinions, they are not entitled to their own facts.
I plan to rework it a little bit and send it to other local and regional papers via http://www.democrats.org/...
Source for figures: http://www.newsmeat.com/...
(Yes, I stole the turn of phrase "Republicans own Abramoff, like he used to own them." I don't remember which blogger said it, but it works, so I want to put it out there for Joe Average non-blogger-reader.)