The Anti-Sam Brownback Blog

Senator Sam Brownback had the following comment after the President’s State of the Union address:

“I think both sides applauded a number” of the president’s proposals, Brownback said. “We need ethics reform…. You’re going to see immigration reform… We need to get spending under control.”

Like Brownback has any room to talk about ethics reform. Do remember he had to donate to charity $42,000 that he received from Abramoff associates. He also donated to charity $5,000 he received from the defense contractor embroiled in the Duke Cunningham bribery scandal.

While on ABC’s “This Week” Senator Sam Brownback lied Sunday morning when he claimed Democrats have taken money from Jack Abramoff:

(Off-camera) How well did you know Jack Abramoff and did he ever ask you to take action on behalf of his clients?

SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK (REPUBLICAN)

He never asked me to take any action on behalf of any of his clients. I met him once over a breakfast or a lunch meeting and that was the only personal contact that I had with him. Obviously he was raising lots of money from Native American tribes and trying to move up fast and rapidly. I think he gave money to nearly 80 members in the United States Senate so he was spreading it amongst Republicans and Democrats. And I’m hopeful that the trail is followed and let’s pursue this and let’s pursue it aggressively so that we can show the people good, honest, clean government. (From Lexis Nexis Archives)

Brownback should come clean and admit no Democrats took money from Jack Abramoff. If what he said was not what he meant to say, he should learn to be more precise in his wording. As the statement stands, this is a lie.

As I previously mentioned, Brownback has already pledged to return campaign contributions he received from Jack Abramoff, the disgraced republican lobbyist.

What remains to be discovered is whether Brownback was involved in the influence peddling web that Abramoff ran for so long. Perhaps Abramoff gave money to some politicians without implicit favors being discussed, but I doubt it.

Methinks Senator Brownback and many other republican lawmakers are not sleeping well tonight.

Looks like Senator Sam Brownback may be tied to the Jack Abramoff scandal. Why am I not suprised? Bloomberg reports:

When the U.S. Interior Department rejected a $3 million grant in 2003 for an Indian-tribe client of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the Indians doubled their political donations to Congress — and got their money’s worth.

A joint House-Senate committee agreed later that year to insert the grant in legislation funding the Interior Department for 2004. The Saginaw Chippewa tribe gave $556,730 to U.S. lawmakers in 2003-2004, up from $237,980 in the previous two years, and more than one-fifth went to 17 of the 30 committee members.

Burns received more money from Abramoff and his tribal clients than any other lawmaker between 2001 and 2004, taking in $136,500. Dorgan ranked fourth, with $54,000. Two other members of the conference committee were among the 10 biggest recipients: Republican Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, who received $43,000; and Republican Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, who got $37,000.

“It looks like there is some connection between the contributions and the activities, if in no other way than the timing and the way it was done, in conference,'’ said Noble, now executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group that studies campaign finance.

This all wouldn’t matter much if Abramoff was going to keep quiet and take a hit for everyone else. Thankfully, the New York Times is hinting that a plea agreement could be right around the corner. The Republican culture of corruption may finally see the light of day.