(via truthout)

The Abramoff scandal widens. Can’t say we’re surprised that the rampant corruption and cronyism includes every nook and crevice of governance.

Democratic leaders, in a letter to Speaker Hastert, demanded a congressional investigation into the role played by the Alexander Strategy Group, the lobbying firm linked to Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff. It is alleged the legislative process and passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug Act was corrupted.

Shocked are you?  I didn’t think so.

link to full text of letter from Democratic Leaders Pelosi, Hoyer and Waxman below. Here’s the opening money quote summary:

Dear Mr. Speaker:

    We are writing to ask you to open an investigation into the role that the Alexander Strategy Group, a lobbying firm closely linked to Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff, played in crafting the Medicare Prescription Drug Act of 2003 and the budget reconciliation bill currently pending before Congress.

    The Medicare Prescription Drug Act, which has caused so much confusion and havoc since January 1, was a product of a corrupt legislative process. When the bill passed, we knew that Democratic members had been denied opportunities to offer amendments and that the vote had been held open for hours in the dead of night to twist arms. Afterwards, we learned that crucial cost estimates were illegally withheld from Democratic members; that the key Administration official responsible for writing the bill was simultaneously negotiating a high-paying job representing drug and insurance companies; and that the Republican chairman responsible for steering the legislation through Congress subsequently accepted a lucrative job in the pharmaceutical industry. We further learned about a Republican member who had alleged that a bribe had been offered him on the House floor.

[snip]

 We also urge you to extend this investigation to examine the role of the Alexander Strategy Group in the pharmaceutical provisions of the pending budget reconciliation legislation and to delay the final vote on the reconciliation bill until this investigation is complete.

[snip]

(emphasis mine)

Only this am, on Vermont Public Radio, is a report that the Medicare D fiasco is costing this small state $200,000 per day and it will take several weeks to fix the chaos in Washington DC. One example given was a 70 yr-old lady who showed up for her prescription only to be told Medicare D has her as being dead. Her response “if I don’t have my medicine, I’ll soon be”.

We’ve all read the horrors our seniors are facing. But this administration and their co-partners have only one solution to governance: Privatize it! and ensure the profits are sent to our designated charities.

link to full letter on the facts

 http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012506Q.shtml

Now speaking of cronyism – who do you suppose is in charge? Mark McCellan. Yea that’s the brother of Scottie, White House Press. Mark recently reversed himself when he said the federal gov would not reimburse the daily costs incurred by the states stepping in to keep their citizen’s Rx ongoing.

I’m disappointed in our Democratic leadership. They don’t seem to recognize when to holler and scream. “Stop the Crooks before they steal the barn and the cows.”