Friends in Low Places Jack Abramoff began his political career as a member of the College Republicans. It was the beginning of a career devoted to furthering the conservative movement at all costs. Today, this career has led to a scandal that reveals the corrupt nature of the Republican Party. bramoff's work as a top Republican lobbyist led to three felony counts of conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion. There are multiple elements to this story, so let's break them down. I. A REPUBLICAN SCANDAL The Abramoff scandal is not a bipartisan scandal but is a Republican scandal. The corporate news media, partially because of the Right Wing Noise Machine and partially because of incompetence, has implicated both parties. The facts are otherwise. In fact, CNN stated today that the GOP claim that the scandal implicates both parties "does not seem substantiated by Federal Election Commission records." Abramoff personally donated over $180,000 to political campaigns between 1998 and 2006. As this link and this link demonsrate, Abramoff gave 100% of these contributions to Republicans. Some Democrats did, however, receive money from Abramoff's clients and associates. This doesn't mean that Abramoff donated to them. Indeed, the opposite is true. Abramoff defrauded his clients, many of which were Indian tribes. Native American tribes tend to support Democratic causes so it should not surprise anyone that they donated to Democrats. But these donations are not part of the scandal. It's the pay for play donations given exclusively to Republicans that form the heart of this scandal. Regardless, two thirds of the $4.4 million donated by Abramoff's associates went to Republicans. When you add in the 100% of his personal donations went to Republicans, this is clearly a Republican scandal. Abramoff's personal memberships indicate his Republican beliefs. Abramoff personally led 3 organizations under the umbrella of the Heritage Foundation, a main player in the Vast Right Wing Conpsiracy. He was a member of the United Students of America foundation, a group dedicated to educating students on the need to defund political activism on campus and a group that funneled money to conservative causes. Abramoff was an associate of many of Congress' top Republicans including Tom DeLay. He is a Republican powerhouse and there's no denying it. II. ABRAMOFF AND BUSH George W. Bush was a direct beneficiary of Abramoff's crimes. In fact, their close relationship hints that Bush knew about the crimes but didn't care. First, Abramoff donated $100,000 to Bush's re-election campaign, a donation that marked him as a "Pioneer". Despite words to the contrary, Bush has donated just $6,000 of the $100K figure to charity and has kept the rest of the tainted cash. Second, Bush has felt it necessary to lie about his relationship with Abramoff. Bush's spokesperson originally claimed that Abramoff was not present at a May 9, 2001 meeting with the President. Time magazine, however, confirms that photographs prove Abramoff's attendance at the meeting. In fact, Time magazine has viewed 5 photographs that show Bush and Abramoff together. Unfortunately these photos have not yet become public, but when they are you can count on seeing them adorn this blog on a daily basis. Abramoff was admitted to the White House several times for meetings with top aides, including one with Bush's chief aide Karl Rove. Abramoff met with over 200 top administration officials. Grover Norquist, a Republican operative famous for admitting that "my goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub,"wrote in a letter that he would be honored if Abramoff joined him for a meeting at the White House. Last week, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan refused to answer questions about Abramoff's meetings in the White House unless reporters had "something specific" to discuss. The emergence of the Time magazine article gave them "something specific" indeed. McClellan's response? He cancelled yesterday's daily White House press briefing. The Right Wing Lie Machine has been working in overdrive to lie about the scandal, mislead reporters and cover its tracks. I won't let them. Abramoff's corruption was but an example of the pay-for-play model of governance that the Republicans abide by. Bush needs to answer for his dealings with this shady criminal. The Democrats must not let this issue die. The Republicans run this country like criminals and Abramoff's acts provide the smoking gun. My question to Republicans is this: why do you continue to support massive criminality in government? Between Bush's illegal warrantless wiretaps and the illegal acts of a Republican lobbyist, it's clear that the GOP simply has no respect for the rule of law. As a future lawyer, I am outraged by the Republican Party's disrespect for the laws that make this nation great. Every other American citizen should agree.