Boustany Triple Dips on Tainted Lewis Money!

Whoa! The more information that comes out on the Jerry Lewis (R-CA) stem of the Duke Cunningham Bribery Investigation, the more it appears that Cholly Boustany's 2004 campaign benefited from the tainted money.

Lewis, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, is under investigation for tying earmarks in appropriations bills to campaign contributions. As documented earlier on this blog (here and here), Boustany took money from Lewis and from the husband (Richard) of the lobbyist (and former Lewis staffer), Letitia White who is a central figure in the investigation.

Today, an Associated Press story revealed that a current Lewis aide, Jeff Shockey, received a, uh, "generous" severance package from the lobbying firm in which White is a partner -- --Copeland, Lowery, Jacquez, Denton and White. Shockey left the lobbying firm to go to work for Lewis. In 1999, Shockey had left Lewis's staff to go to work for the lobbying firm.

To call the relationship between Lewis's staff and the lobbying firm a revolving door is to elevate revolving doors to a status to which they might be accustomed.

Well, it turns out that Jeff Shockey's wife Alexandra also donated to Boustany's 2004 campaign. Recall that Lewis's contributions to Boustany were part of his efforts to win commitments for votes that would make him chairman of the Appropriations Committee after the 2004 election. Letitia White helped raise money for Lewis and his PAC in order to make those contributions. Was her husband's contribution part of that effort? Was Alexandra Shockey's?

Government no longer works for regular people because our voices are drowned out by the power of contributions in expensive campaigns. Has 'one man, one vote' been replaced by 'one dollar, one vote'?

We report. You decide.