Doug Bandow, a Christian/libertarian columnist and senior fellow at the Cato Institute, admits he accepted payments from corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff:
A former Abramoff associate says Bandow and at least one other think-tank expert were typically paid $2,000 per column to address specific topics of interest to Abramoff’s clients. Bandow’s standing as a columnist and think-tank analyst provided a seemingly independent validation of the arguments the Abramoff team were using to try to sway Congressional action.
Bandow confirms that he received $2,000 for some pieces, but says it was “usually less than that amount.” He says he wrote all the pieces himself, though with topics and information provided by Abramoff. He adds that he wouldn’t write about subjects that didn’t interest him.
Bandow called it a “a lapse of judgment on my part, and I take full responsibility for it.”
I guess it was a decade-long lapse of judgment.
This raises questions in my mind about the independence of all these Washington think-tanks (of all political stripes).
Also, I heard Tucker Carlson speak last week … he called the emerging Abramoff scandal very interesting, and something that could really hurt the G.O.P. in 2006.
And you know, unless I’m missing something, I’ve never heard of any liberal columnists exposed for being on the take from some organization. Another example of media bias actually running towards the conservative end of the spectrum rather than the liberal. Sad.
Now there’s a new development at that other tabloid!