Appeal from Center-RIght Bloggers

Well, folks, in my 4 January 2006 posting I stated, regarding the Jack Abramoff affair, that " I likely will have little to say about it (unless, of course, I come across some unique or unusual evidence, or espouse some unique or particularly atypical view on the Abramoff affair)."

It is now obvious that the Abramoff affair's roots and branches run very wide and deep. This blog can be restrained in its treatment of the unfolding Abramoff saga, but it will not be 100% unaffected by it.

This "Appeal from Center-Right Bloggers" initiated by The Truth Laid Bear is the antithesis of unique because so many bloggers have signed onto it in such a short time. My name is among them because I think that popular consensus is important on this matter. After some thought and deliberation, I have concluded that adding my name to this is sufficiently significant to warrant another post to this blog.

I reproduce the statement below.


An Appeal from Center-Right Bloggers:

We are bloggers with boatloads of opinions, and none of us come close to agreeing with any other one of us all of the time. But we do agree on this: The new leadership in the House of Representatives needs to be thoroughly and transparently free of the taint of the Jack Abramoff scandals, and beyond that, of undue influence of K Street.

We are not naive about lobbying, and we know it can and has in fact advanced crucial issues and has often served to inform rather than simply influence Members.

But we are certain that the public is disgusted with excess and with privilege. We hope the Hastert-Dreier effort leads to sweeping reforms including the end of subsidized travel and other obvious influence operations. Just as importantly, we call for major changes to increase openness, transparency and accountability in Congressional operations and in the appropriations process.

As for the Republican leadership elections, we hope to see more candidates who will support these goals, and we therefore welcome the entry of Congressman John Shadegg to the race for Majority Leader. We hope every Congressman who is committed to ethical and transparent conduct supports a reform agenda and a reform candidate. And we hope all would-be members of the leadership make themselves available to new media to answer questions now and on a regular basis in the future.