reality-based educator

Proving that members of the GOP can read polls as well as anyone, three members of the Republican Party called for Preznit Bush to disclose his ties to disgraced GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff. This comes on the heels of a Washington Post/ABC News poll showing 76% of Americans want to see the White House come clean on the Abramoff matter. Here are the details from the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON - Republican lawmakers said Sunday that President Bush should publicly disclose White House contacts with Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist who has pleaded guilty to felony charges in an influence-peddling case.

Releasing the records would help eliminate suspicions that Abramoff, a top fundraiser for Bush’s re-election campaign, had undue influence on the White House, the Republicans said.

“I’m one who believes that more is better, in terms of disclosure and transparency,” said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. “And so I’d be a big advocate for making records that are out there available.”

The president has refused to reveal how much access Abramoff had to the White House, but has said he does not know Abramoff personally. Bush has said federal prosecutors are welcome to see the records of Abramoff’s contacts if they suspect something inappropriate, but he has not released them publicly.

Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., who appeared with Thune on “Fox News Sunday,”, said all White House correspondence, phone calls and meetings with Abramoff “absolutely” should be released.

...

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., played down the notion that Bush was beholden to Abramoff because of a few donations. But Hagel said Bush should release the photos to avoid giving Democrats unnecessary political ammunition.

“Get it out. Get it out. Come on,” Hagel said, adding the photos will eventually leak out anyway.

“I mean, disclosure is the real issue. Whether it’s campaign finance issues, whether it’s ethics issues, whether it’s lobbying issues, disclosure is the best and most effective way to deal with all of these things,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Thune said pictures should not be released because it is clear that Democrats would use any pictures of Bush with Abramoff for political purposes.

“But I do think it’s important that everybody understand what this guy’s level of involvement was,” Thune said.

Democrats have complained about Bush’s refusal to disclose White House dealings with Abramoff, who represented six Indian tribes with casinos and several other clients.

The chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean, made it clear that Abramoff’s relationship with Republicans will be an issue in this year’s congressional campaign.

“If the American people will put us back in power in ‘06, we will have on the president’s desk things that outlaw all those kinds of behavior,” Dean said on Fox.

But the comments from the Republicans, who hold the majority in Congress, show that it’s not just Democrats who would like to see Bush come clean.

In a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Friday, 76 percent of those surveyed said the Bush administration should provide a list of all meetings any White House officials have had with Abramoff. Two in three Republicans joined with eight in 10 Democrats and political independents in favoring disclosure, according to the poll.

It's amazing how politicians are suddenly ready to turn against their preznit when a poll shows 76% of the country them to.

Although to be fair, Chuck Hagel is often a thorn in the side of both Preznit Bush and karl Rove, so I'm gonna give him the benefit of the doubt on this one.

But as for Pence and Thune...