Paging Mr. Westneat

Out of all the hullaballo going around about the money from the Casino Americans that lobbyist Jack Abramoff was throwing around, one of the people on the list of Top Ten Recipients was the senior Senator from Washington State, Patty Murray (D)ingbat.

Murray got a minimum of $35,000 from Abramoff’s clients and she is determined to keep it. Now, I don’t hold naything against someone keeping money that was lawfully given to them, but she at least needs to be honest about where it came from. Her defense is that it came from the tribes themselves and not personally handed to her in an unmarked envelope by Abramoff. Also that she reported it and has already spent it.

Last week, the two Seattle papers have said that since the junior Senator, Cantwell, has given her tribe money away, Murray should do so as well. But not everyone at these papers thinks that way. In fact, Danny Westneat, columnist for the Seattle Times thinks she should be somewhat proud that she got and is keeping it.

 

“I will not rush to scapegoat those tribes that have already been victimized by Jack Abramoff” Murray wrote in a letter to the Seattle Times. “Your easy answer would be fine if all I wanted was to score cheap points on ‘being clean’.

 

So her being honest about how she secured her number nine position on the “Got the Most Money from Abramoff Clients” list is now “The Easy Answer“?

Does she really think that the tribes who hired Abramoff because he was so effective at lobbying Congress are ‘Victims’ like she said? Does she really think that Abramoff never once pointed the tribes in her direction as to where the money would be most effective? Does she really think that none of the other people who are returning/donating their Abramoff/tribe money didn’t legally report it when they got it or haven’t spent it already (most of their amounts being pocket change compared to what she got)? Does she really consider the amount of money that she received, as a Senator from the Northwestern United States from multiple tribes in the Southeast region of the United States, was just because they liked her and wanted to help her get re-elected because she would vote for their cause?

And lastly, does she really think that the people of Washington are so stupid as to believe her?

Apparently some are. Paging Mr. Westneat.

Maybe Westneat should click here and scroll on down to the bottom of the page to see Murray’s committee assignments? I’m sure that will provide at least a partial answer and to how she became #9.