NPR's Peter Overby analyzes the implications of Ralph Reed's loss, and cites our ad holding Reed accountable. Note: Overby attributes the ad to our sister organization, Public Campaign. Public Campaign Action Fund's Campaign Money Watch project was responsible for the ad.

It's official, Ralph Reed has ended his bid for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia.

Read the statement by David Donnelly, Director, Campaign Money Watch, below:

Here is the AP story.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a government watchdog group, called on both the I.R.S. and Congress to investigate Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) for alleged ethical violations.

Among the charges (and straight from the CREW website):

According to Sunday's Washington Post, Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) thinks voters have little or no interest in ethics reform. Doolittle told a reporter "Do I think they care about it? No I don't."

UPI is reporting via the New York Times that the there are so many wives popping up in the FBI’s investigation of Abramoff and his dealings that they have dubbed them “The Wives Club.”

We know about DeLay’s wife and her fundraising related salaries. I’m curious to see who else made their elected position and/or illegal activities a “family” business.

Public Campaign Action Fund was part of a multi-organization press conference yesterday to talk about the DeLay resignation. Below are links to the stories stemming from the press call (David is quoted in a few):

Austin American-Statesman

A must read story in the Houston Chronicle connecting the dots on how the DeLay machine worked: utilizing former staff, hired gun Jack Abramoff, and the now defunct lobbying firm the Alexander Strategy Group.

Two days after Abramoff was sentenced, Tony Ruby, a former top DeLay aide, has agreed to plead guilty to fraud charges. It was widely believed that Rudy was “Staffer A” in the Abramoff plea agreement which stated that:

“on behalf of clients who wanted to stop Internet gambling and postal rate legislation, paid $50,000 in 10 equal monthly payments beginning in June 2000 to Rudy's wife while Rudy was a top aide to DeLay.”

Jack Abramoff will be sentenced today in Miami, Florida as a result of his guilty plea to conspiracy and wire fraud charges stemming from his attempted purchase of a fleet of gambling boats.  According to the Houston Chronicle, in an attempt for leniency, Abramoff had some 260 people write letters on his behalf including rabbis, military officers, and a professional hockey referee.

From the letter of NHL referee Dave Jackson:

Despite analysis that her campaign is in "complete dissaray" Katherine Harris is still insisting she's going to win in her bid for Senate. Quite a hurdle with a history like hers.  She's taken illegal campaign contributions, tried to cover for it by packing her campaign warchest with $10 million of her own money - to say nothing of her disregard for Democratic principles in the 2000 election debacle.&n