EDITORIAL: Bishop’s Misdirected Blame

“On Friday, a Washington political website, Politico, reported that U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, had used Congressional Black Caucus Foundation scholarship funds to benefit his stepdaughter and a niece.

“Bishop wouldn’t address the issue when our reporter asked him about it at an event in Americus, but his campaign office sent out a statement later in the day Friday. It stated that the congressman would repay the money; that he hadn’t violated any rules because at the time he awarded the scholarships to family, there were no rules governing who they could be awarded to, and that it was all a low-blow campaign tactic instigated by Bishop’s Republican opponent in the Nov. 2 general election, Mike Keown of Coolidge.”

“One would expect the money to have been used exclusively to help deserving students in the Second Congressional District pay for their educational costs, not as a means to help out family.

“Melanie Sloan, director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), certainly sees it that way. She told The Associated Press that members of Congress shouldn’t need rules written out just to know that awarding that type of scholarship money to their families is inappropriate.”

“One thing to keep in mind here is that CREW’s stinging criticism doesn’t come from a Republican-pandering organization. CREW gets donations from liberal groups, such as George Soros’ Open Society Institute, and has both Republican and Democrats on its “Most Corrupt” list each year. Sloan formerly worked for Joseph Biden before he became vice president and is Valerie Plame’s attorney in her suit against former Bush administration officials over their roles in outing her as a CIA official.”

“Bishop campaign chief Tim Turner’s accusation against Keown on Friday falls under the same general theme of misdirected of blame. The question isn’t who told on the congressman. The question is how such lapses in judgment regarding the scholarships happened in the first place.

“And that, so far, has not been answered.”

Read more: (Editorial, “Scholarships not Opponents’ Fault,” Albany Herald, 9/12/2010)