It now appears that some Republicans are finally admitting that the Jack Abramoff ethical scandal is a Republican scandal.Congressman Mark Souder: ''Duke Cunningham, Jack Abramoff and the ongoing and disgusting saga of abuse of power and public trust are not just made up by the Democrats,'' said Representative Mark Souder of Indiana in nominating Mr. Shadegg, according to remarks made available by Mr. Shadegg's office on Friday. ''We were put in power to be different,'' Mr. Souder added. ''What has happened to us?''
Congressman Paul Ryan: "If we just do lobbyist reform and call it a day, we will not have reformed Washington and Congress," Ryan said, who criticized his own party for stalling needed changes and abusing the system.
He called Abramoff a "crook" and said U.S. Rep. Duke Cunningham, R-Calif., should go to prison for accepting bribes that were made possible by a cloaked system of spending and deal making.
Ryan added that he hoped the corruption that has come to light in recent months will help his reforms gain support in Congress.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich: "As politicians led by President Bush scrambled to ditch campaign contributions from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich cautioned Republicans they risk losing control of congressional majorities if they try to put all the blame on lobbyists.
"You can't have a corrupt lobbyist unless you have a corrupt member (of Congress) or a corrupt staff. This was a team effort," Gingrich told a Rotary Club lunch in Washington on Wednesday. He called for systematic changes to reduce the enormous financial advantages that incumbents have in congressional elections."
"He said the GOP leaders, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., need to resist mere "lobbyist bashing" and push campaign finance changes, along with smaller and more effective government.
"If they intend to retain a majority, then ... they need to take the lead in saying to the country we need to clean this mess up," Gingrich told reporters. "But any effort to push this under the rug, to say this is just one bad apple: That's baloney."
Nevertheless, there has still been no ethics reform in Washington D.C. (1,2,3) or Nashville (1,2, 3).
The Republicans have majorities in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, as well as the Tennessee State Senate. Thus, they have the chance to be strong and decisive in both Washington and Nashville on ethics.
However, that is yet to happen.
The Republicans always are blaming the Democrats for every problem that comes up. However, this is a Republican problem and at the least, they should fix it.
Read more about Congressman Ford's actions on ethics reform here! (1, 2, 3)
