Damn That Culture of Corruption

I'm bettin' the Dems are gonna be sorry that they ever started with this "Culture of Corruption" slogan... Poor Harry Reid just can't catch a break. He gets free ringside seat tickets to one of the biggest boxing matches of the year but he had to sit with John McCain. And so much for flying under the radar - he got snapped on the ringside camera shots from HBO. (I watched this fight and I told my husband that was John McCain. He thought I had been blogging too much. But I didn't even notice Harry Reid - dammit!)

Here's the skinny from Breitbart News...

"Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid accepted free ringside tickets from the Nevada Athletic Commission to three professional boxing matches while that state agency was trying to influence him on federal regulation of boxing."
Reid, D-Nev., took the free seats for Las Vegas fights between 2003 and 2005 as he was pressing legislation to increase government oversight of the sport, including the creation of a federal boxing commission that Nevada's agency feared might usurp its authority. He defended the gifts, saying they would never influence his position on the bill and was simply trying to learn how his legislation might affect an important home state industry." (and you read Playboy just for the articles, right?)

Breitbart also brings up Reid's little Abramoff problem...

"Reid had separate meetings in June 2003 in his Senate offices with two Abramoff tribal clients and Edward Ayoob, a former staffer who went to work lobbying with Abramoff.
The meetings occurred over a five-day span in which Ayoob also threw a fundraiser for Reid at the firm where Ayoob and Abramoff worked that netted numerous donations from Abramoff's partners, firm and clients."

"Reid had separate meetings in June 2003 in his Senate offices with two Abramoff tribal clients and Edward Ayoob, a former staffer who went to work lobbying with Abramoff.
The meetings occurred over a five-day span in which Ayoob also threw a fundraiser for Reid at the firm where Ayoob and Abramoff worked that netted numerous donations from Abramoff's partners, firm and clients. "

"One of the tribes, the Saginaw Chippewa of Michigan, donated $9,000 to Reid at the fundraiser and the next morning met briefly with Reid and Ayoob at Reid's office to discuss federal programs. Reid and the tribal chairman posed for a picture.
Five days earlier, Reid met with Ayoob and the Sac & Fox tribe of Iowa for about 15 minutes to discuss at least two legislative requests. Reid's office said the senator never acted on those requests."

"A few months after the fundraiser, Reid did sponsor a spending bill that targeted $100,000 to another Abramoff tribe, the Chitimacha of Louisiana, to pay for a soil erosion study Ayoob was lobbying for. Reid said he sponsored the provision because Louisiana lawmakers sent him a letter requesting it. "

"AP recently reported that Reid also wrote at least four letters favorable to Abramoff's tribal clients around the time Reid collected donations from those clients and Abramoff's partners. Reid has declined to return the donations, unlike other lawmakers, saying his letters were consistent with his beliefs. "

What did Reid have to say about taking the pricey tickets for the boxing match?

"I love the fights anyways, so it wasn't like being punished," added the senator, a former boxer and boxing judge." (And I bet you can leg press 2000 lbs. too))

"Reid broadly defended his actions, stating he would never change his position because of donations, free tickets or a request from a former-staffer-turned-lobbyist. "
"People who deal with me and have over the years know that I am an advocate for what I believe in. I always try to do it fair, never take advantage of people on purpose," he said. "

"I'm not Goodie two shoes. I just feel these events are nothing I did wrong," Reid said.

While the above quotes are great and will come in handy over the next 2 years, THIS one is priceless!

"Asked if he would have done anything differently, the Senate Democratic leader said his only concern was "the willingness of the press ... to take these instances and try to make a big deal out of them."

So Harry how does it feel when the shoe is on the other foot? LOSER!

UPDATE: The Washington Post weighs in on the story here.