Contributions + Contracts = Corruption? Nah! They're Republicans!!! Charlie B. Got Some $$$, too!

Yet another of Charlie Boustany's Republican Congressional patrons has cropped up in a news story about a congressman and a contractor skirting very close to the edge of ethical conduct.

The Washington Post reports on the dealings between Congressman Harold 'Hal' Rogers of Kentucky and a Massachusetts company trying to make its way in the world as a homeland security contractor. Low and behold! They gave some money to Rogers (did we mention that he chairs the Homeland Security subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee?) and landed a pretty nice ($463 million — but who's counting?) contract from the Transportation Security Administration.

Some call it corruption. Others call it getting their due. Some, apparently, call these relationships at least worthy of review.

It is worth noting that Congressman Rogers' political action committee (HALPAC) has been a persistent and significant contributor to Congressman Charles Boustany's 2004 and 2006 campaigns. Pardon me, I take the liberty of calling $18,500 a significant amount of money.

Is there something about being a Republican congressman from the Seventh District in Louisiana that makes is near impossible to get out of the way of tainted contributions? Congressman Boustany's steadfast refusal to separate his campaign from corrupt (DeLay, Abramoff, et al) contributors and tainted contributors must surely raise questions about Mr. Boustany's ethical judgment. Oh, I forgot, he's a Republican, so he must be presumed to be ethical!

For someone who promised to separate us from the corrupt politics of the past, Charlie is sure running in extremely tight formation with the most corrupt elements of his chosen party. Has he even hinted at returning a penny of this tainted money? Not that I know of, but that's just me!

How long can one run in corrupt circles without being affected by it? Is Charlie Boustany trying to make himself a test case? How long do we have to wait for answers?