Montana's GOP Spins & Intimidates

In the recent furor of the Montana GOP over a Montana Dems ad that makes light of the link between Conrad Burns, the senator up for re-election, and Jack Abramoff, the shady lobbyist under investigation for breaking campaign finance laws, there is spin and intimidation well underway. The Dems' ad claims (rightfully so; see the linked Washington Post Article from February 28, 2005) that Burns received donations from Abramoff. The Montana GOP disputes this claim and has threatened legal action against the stations that are planning to carry the ad. Their assertion that Abramoff did not donate money to Burns' campaign is a spin using terminology so specifically, that it makes the argument worthless. It is true that Abramoff did not ever donate money to Burns' campaign, but he did support the campaign by providing plane flights and directing donations from the Indian lobbies he is under investigation for in the law firm he is associated with. While the assertion by the Montana Dems that Abramoff donated money to Burns' campaign is not true, this only holds up under the most restrictive use of the lexicon. In the more general sense, he did donate to Burns by funneling money from other donors and by providing non-monetary favors to Burns. Yet another Republican has been implicated in the Abramoff-DeLay affair and yet again, they use spin and intimidation to try to weasel their way out of it.