Political Skullduggery

The lobbying scandal is really cramping some lawmakers' style.

It is happening on both sides of the aisle.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers are canceling their regularly scheduled meetings with lobbyists as the fallout from the Jack Abramoff scandal continues to roil Capitol Hill.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said it has ended its biweekly meeting between congressional chiefs of staff and lobbyists, and the Senate Republican Conference suspended one of its regular lobbyist cattle calls as well...

A Republican conference aide said that after a review of its programs the conference would no longer hold its biweekly, Tuesday morning meetings led by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), chairman of the Republican conference -- at least for now. It was unclear whether other gatherings with lobbyists hosted by the Republican group were also suspended.

Don't you think they would say so if that happened to be the case?

The party of Lyndon Johnson (insider joke) is modifying it's contacts as well:

Phil Singer, spokesman for the Democratic campaign committee, confirmed that the Monday Group was also ending its regular meetings, which often attracted as many as 50 lobbyists. That decision was first reported in the newspaper Roll Call.

"With the 2006 campaign in full swing, the DSCC is focusing its energies on winning races and picking up seats," Singer said. But he added: "We will continue to periodically update activists about our campaigns."

I somehow thought so.