Democratic strategist James Carville has had some long-standing problems with the blogosphere. I have never attacked him to date and I have even defended some of his comments and actions to my friends and colleagues. However, I was just reading through the sentencing letters sent on Scooter Libby’s behalf to Judge Reggie Walton and I’m pretty appalled to see one of the letters is sent by Carville and his wife, Mary Matalin.

James Carville is not an elected official and he is free to support anyone who he would like, but Libby is a convicted criminal and he should not have the support of Democrats who are working to clean up government and hold Bush and Cheney accountable for their illegal and unethical activity in regards to Valerie Plame and the Iraq War.

This just shows that when you live in Washington, D.C. for too long, you forget who you are and you lose touch with reality. Sure, Libby might be a nice guy, but he was convicted of a crime and he deserves to pay his debt to society.

The bottom line is that James Carville should not be lending his support to a criminal. Oh, and Rep. William Jefferson should resign immediately!

Goodbye for now, sweet prince.

Jack Abramoff corrupted our political system. He owes every single American an apology. Now, he’ll have plenty of time to think about his actions when he’s sitting in a jail cell for the next six years. He deserved more, but we’ll take what we can get.

Abramoff reports to prison today.

Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist known for lavishing politicians with football tickets or whisking them away on exotic golf junkets, will start life Wednesday with a new identity: federal inmate No. 27593-112.

Abramoff is to report to federal prison to begin serving a nearly six-year prison sentence for a fraudulent deal to buy a fleet of casino ships in Florida. He also is awaiting sentencing for corrupting government officials and their staff members.

If it were up to the Justice Department, Abramoff wouldn’t be heading to prison — at least not yet. He could hold the key to a sweeping corruption case involving Congress, members of the Bush administration and their aides — and prosecutors said putting their star witness behind bars would impede the investigation.

But a Miami federal judge refused to delay the sentence, meaning Abramoff’s cooperation will have to continue from prison. Abramoff’s lawyers had no comment.

Abramoff was originally assigned to a federal prison in Pennsylvania about four hours away from Washington. Prosecutors wanted him assigned to a prison in Cumberland, Maryland, about two hours away.

The Justice Department said the issue has been resolved and, though the Bureau of Prisons will not comment on where Abramoff will report, prison officials began making preparations for a crush of reporters outside the Cumberland prison.

Abramoff enjoyed access and influence across Capitol Hill, from his close ties to congressmen, to his hundreds of contacts with White House officials. He kept his powerful friends flush with campaign cash, gifts and trips such as a $92,000 chartered jet to Scotland for a golf outing with Rep. Bob Ney, Bush administration official David Safavian and congressional aides.

RJ Matson Cartoon

Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) is also going down. Rep. Ney is one of the key players in the Jack Abramoff/Tom DeLay corruption scandal. He should resign from Congress today.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that Kentucky Governer Ernie Fletcher (R), under fire for his corrupt hiring practices, was indicted today on three counts of conspiracy, official misconduct and political discrimination. While Fletcher pardoned all of his administration officials who were involved in the case last summer, the Republican Culture of Corruption is coming crashing down on him.

The special grand jury that’s been investigating state government hiring practices indicted Gov. Ernie Fletcher on three misdemeanors for conspiracy, official misconduct and political discrimination.
…
Attorney General Greg Stumbo launched the investigation into the Fletcher administration’s hiring procedures about a year ago, in May 2005, after Doug Doerting turned over piles of paperwork. The prosecuting attorneys have said the paperwork showed personnel decisions were based on politics, not qualifications as the law requires.

Fletcher pardoned the 13 current or former administration officials or associates who were indicted by the grand jury.

Via Bluegrass Report.