REPUBLICANS HAVE DEVISED A STRATEGY TO DEAL WITH THEIR HUGE CORRUPTION SCANDALS-- BLAME DEMOCRATS

Although House Speak Dennis Hastert, himself under a cloud of suspicion for taking large bribes from the government of Turkey in return for derailing the efforts of Armenian-American community, has suggested ethics seminars for Republican members of the House of Representatives, there was such a lot of squealing from so many stuck piggies, especially from Michigan's very crooked, very enraged, bribe-soaked Thaddeus McCotter, that the Republicans decided to come up with an alternative plan about how to deal with the multiple ethics scandals enveloping their party on all levels.

Although the defense contractors bribery case that tripped up admitted bribe taker, Republican ex-Congressloon Randy "Duke" Cunningham is threatening to spill over and swamp dozens of Republican legislators, the GOP has decided what to do about the Abramoff scandals: smear Democrats.

For although Abramoff was the consigliere of Republican Crime Boss Tom DeLay and has been financing the political careers of scores of GOP congressmen and senators, he was once seen in an elevator with the brother-in-law of someone who may have voted for John Kerry.

According to a story in today's issue of THE HILL, the "National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is planning a public-relations offensive tying leading Democrats to lobbyist Jack Abramoff in an effort to neutralize accusations that Republicans have been embroiled in a 'culture of corruption.' The campaign will zero in on Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.); Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin, both Michigan Democrats; and the Democratic Senatorial Committee (DSCC), among others, for taking money from Abramoff's former clients. The fact that the GOP campaign is patently absurd doesn't make any difference. The Republicans' goal is just to muddy the water and make people believe that "they all do it."

Although a spokesman for the DSCC, Phil Singer, said that "now that the Republicans have gotten their hand caught in the cookie jar, they are doing whatever they can to divert attention from the corruption that has become the defining characteristic of the GOP majority. It's not going to work."
But it may. Most people don't pay close attention and don't know who these characters are or what they stand for-- I remember how shocked I was after reading in 1999 that over 10% of voters thought George W. Bush, then running for president, was his father, George H. W. Bush-- and will find it much easier to digest a simple message that all politicians of all political parties are crooks.