Democrats reject any parallels to the Abramoff saga. "Abramoff was involved in a pervasive culture of corruption," said Matthew Miller, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "Native Americans have every right to participate in the political process just like Americans across the country do."

This should be obvious to any but the most bigoted. But to bash Dems, WaPo will stoop to anything.

But what of the issue of the fundraising? Now that Dems control Congress, WaPo has discovered that political fundraising is bad:

The tactics are hardly new. Republicans aggressively used their committee chairmen -- and the promise of access to them -- to raise money from interest groups and lobbyists during the party's 12 years of congressional control. They tracked donations closely and pressed lobbying firms to hire GOP lobbyists through the "K Street Project," promising "intimate" issue briefings with the chairmen in return for big donations.

Indeed, it is NOT new, not illegal, nor does it violate House ethics rules. So what's the point? That the system is broken? How about that? Did the Washington Post write about "the tactics" when the GOP was in control? Only when someone was charged with illegality. Here is an example:

From the April 19[, 2004] Washington Post article:

Freddie Mac will pay a record $3.8 million fine to settle civil charges that it violated federal election law by using corporate resources to raise $1.7 million at political fundraisers, most of them for Republican members of Congress and many involving House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio).

The agreement with the Federal Election Commission also settles allegations that the company violated election law by contributing $150,000 to the Republican Governors Association in 2002.

The settlement, which Freddie Mac agreed to without admitting or denying it broke the law, stems from an orchestrated effort by the McLean-based mortgage company to court key lawmakers through lavish dinners and other events, the settlement shows.

You see how this got into WaPo? The FEC filed charges. That's what it used to take. But with Harry Reid-obsessed, Dem hater John Solomon on the beat, a Dem bash needs no excuse.

And the usual suspect watchdog groups are always ready to supply the "they are all bad" bullshit quote:

Government-watchdog groups are chagrined but not surprised by the rush of high-level Democratic fundraising. "Coming so close on the heels of winning last year's election based on changing the so-called culture of corruption in Washington, it's unseemly, but it's completely predictable," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "Democrats, like the Republicans before them, need the cash to maintain their majority status, and when you are in the majority it is much easier to collect the money."

Excuse me Ms. Sloan, where is the Dem K Project? What laws did the Dems violate? This is just the standard issue bullshit that makes these groups so utterly irrelevant.

And the ending of the Solomon article is priceless:

Democratic spokesmen sought to portray the upcoming fundraisers as commonplace. "The senior Democrats on the committees and the leadership have always been very supportive of DCCC efforts," said Jennifer Crider, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Sought to portray? You Solomon, buried at graf 15, wrote:

The tactics are hardly new. Republicans aggressively used their committee chairmen -- and the promise of access to them -- to raise money from interest groups and lobbyists during the party's 12 years of congressional control.

Sought to portray? What is demonstrated by this article is that WaPo has decided to go into the Dem bashing business, writing articles about perfectly legal and ethical fundraising, the type of fundraising that did not raise a WaPo eyebrow for 12 years.

Is the system broken? Of course. But don't pretend that you actually give a shit. For the 12 years of GOP rule, you didn't. Though you had a lot to say about the Lincoln bedroom.

Business as usual for the Media.