"I'm writing in response to "Murray should return tainted money," [editorial, Jan. 8],
Jack Abramoff never darkened my door, and, as you wrote, he never donated to me. In fact, he sought my defeat by contributing to my opponent in 2003.
Apparently, The Times has decided that certain contributions are tainted no matter that they were legally given, legally reported and legally spent. The Times' message is: Return tribal money.
I will not join the rush to scapegoat those tribes who have already been victimized by Abramoff. Your easy answer would be fine if all I wanted was to score cheap points on being "clean."
But as someone who has stood as a partner with Native Americans and championed tribal sovereignty, I'm proud of their support. Your editorial asks, "How would she like to repeat that riff 25 times a day for the next five years ... ?"
I would rather repeat my support for tribes 25 times a day than to even once say "tribal money is tainted" just to make myself look better.
The people of Washington state know that blaming someone for the sins of another just for appearances' sake doesn't make anyone clean.
-- Patty Murray, United States senator, D-Wash., Washington, D.C."-from Senator Murray's letter in the Seattle Times today, tipped by Ray Minchew's post on the new WashBlog site. As long as you are there, check out Bev Marcus' letter, "Seeing his believing," regarding Alito, as you are scrolling down to the Senator's letter. Bev is a loyal reader of this site and suggests stories on a regular basis.
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