But it’s easy to verify from FEC records that Abramoff did not give a dime to any of the Democrats, and neither did any of his cronies, currently under investigation.

I highly doubt that he directed any of his clients to donate to Democrats. Perhaps he did. More likely, they got the idea to throw a few shekels in the Democrats’ direction on their own.

What we’re witnessing is the implosion of the K-Street Project. That is, more-or-less by definition, a Republican undertaking. I dunno how far it will unravel, but the bad news is exclusively concentrated on one side of the aisle.

Here’s one for you: Senator Byron Dorgan, D – North Dakota:

The top Democrat on the Senate committee investigating casino lobbyist Jack Abramoff is returning $67,000 in donations after press reports showed that he collected the money from Mr. Abramoff’s gambling clients around the time he took actions favorable to those clients.

Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, North Dakota Democrat, said he hasn’t done anything wrong but is returning the money to avoid the appearance of any conflict.

Here’s a little something for those who think this is only a Republican scandal

“Forty of forty five members of the Democrat Senate Caucus took money from Jack Abramoff, his associates, and Indian tribe clients.”

One could, equally truthfully, have said:

“Forty of forty five members of the Democrat Senate Caucus took money from John Gotti, Fidel Castro, Jack Abramoff, his associates, and Indian tribe clients.”

Not a single one of the listed Democrats received a dime from Jack Abramoff.

Under most people’s definition of the phrase “his associates,” none of them received anything from them either (though, with a suitably expansive definition of the phrase, they can’t help but have received money from “his associate”).

Yes, a lot of Democrats received money from Indian tribes (though, as you can see, not a whole heckuva lot of money). So what?

Sorry, my friend, this is very much a Republican scandal. I’m willing to bet that every single indictment (and every single censure from the Ethics Committee) that flows from the Abramoff affair will be a Republican.

That’s not to say that there aren’t corrupt Democrats. But this particular nest of vipers is all-elephant.