Burns Toasted

Sen. Conrad Burns, R.Mont., who's running--perhaps stumbling--for re-election, is toast. It's now clear that was deep under the covers with Jack Abramoff (that's a metaphor, for all of you with dirty minds). As NPR's John Ydstie reported today (although it's been known for some time), in 2004, Burns slipped a last minute "earmark" into a Senate appropriations bill, directing $3 million to the Saginaw Chippewa tribe for a new school. Now, the Chippewa aren't from Montana, they're from Michigan. As a Montana state representative from the Blackfeet reservation said, "I thought Sen. Burns [forgot] where he came from." Oh, by the way, the Saginaw Chippewa, a tribe with a highly profitable casino, was represented by none other than Jack Abramoff.

Be sure to check out "Six Degrees of Jack Abramoff," a convenient interactive scorecard of everyone who's been burned (so far) by the Abramoff scandal. It's in the link above.

The only question is whether Burns will be indicted before election day.

It doesn't get much more fun than this!