“I think it’s really unfortunate. They broke the law and they’ve been found guilty breaking it. I had nothing to do with that. I haven’t broken any laws. I did nothing wrong.”
–Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas)
“I guess he contributed to a lot of people, and a lot of contributions from his efforts went to Democrats and Republicans alike”
–Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.), discussing the Abramoff scandal
“It’s a bipartisan congressional issue. And what we know so far from Jack Abramoff’s actions as a lobbyist that it spread in a bipartisan way. So it’s Republicans and Democrats.”
–Brian Nick, NRSC communication director
“I had my picture taken with him, evidently. I’ve had my picture taken with a lot of people. Having my picture taken with someone doesn’t mean that I’m a friend with them or know him very well.”
— President Bush
“The–the–the Abramoff scandal and the–and the Democrats have been, for the last six months or so, trying to make hay out of this culture of corruption. And I think that there is an even larger culture of corruption that we need to explore, and that’s the culture of an ideology. I think liberalism is corrupting America. Liberalism, for some reason, has found itself on the side of our enemies. Liberalism seeks to exploit weaknesses here at home. The– the–the culture of liberalism has gotten so corrupt that it is hard to recognize it anymore.”
–Rush Limbaugh
“And you, madam, don’t know what you’re talking about. OK? So, you are a Kool-Aid drinker who is blinded by whatever neurosis you have, because that’s just insane.”
–Bill O’Reilly to a caller on his FOX News radio show who (accurately) corrected O’Reilly’s false claim that Abramoff donated money to Democrats as well as Republicans
“They have been trying to demonize, and their latest iteration of demonization is this culture of corruption. That dog doesn’t hunt any more. It’s not fair.”
–Mary Matalin
“[The Abramoff scandal is] much more dangerous for the Republican Party because we’re the natural party of reform. Our base is the working, tax-paying American who doesn’t like big government, doesn’t particularly like Washington, and doesn’t like this kind of behavior. And so, I think, we run a much bigger risk in these kind of scandals than do the Democrats whose base is, frankly, much more tolerant of corruption.”
–Newt Gingrich
“The problem for the Republicans is the fact that we’re in control, combined with the fact that we get elected because we’re not supposed to do these kinds of things. I mean, they took over the House to get rid of the system that was in place, that had become corrupted over 30 years of one-party dominance and, you know, unfortunately in 10 short years, we’ve become them. That’s what hurts.”
–Warren Tompkins, Republican strategist
“It is true that any Washington influence peddler is going to spread cash and favors as widely as possible, and 210 members of Congress have received Abramoff-connected dollars. But this is, in its essence, a Republican scandal, and any attempt to portray it otherwise is a misdirection.”
–Rich Lowry, National Review
“I’ve got Jack Abramoff fatigue already. I mean, good grief, he didn’t kill anybody. Maybe that one guy in Florida.”
–Ed Rogers, GOP lobbyist
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Paul Waldman is a Senior Fellow with Media Matters for America. His next book, Being Right is Not Enough: What Progressives Can Learn From Conservative Success, will be released by Wiley & Sons in May.
