The 'ethics' scam

"Independent watchdog," my foot:

Several news stories ... have pointed out that much of CREW’s funding comes from liberal groups and big donors to Democratic candidates and causes. And all but a handful of its complaints against Members of Congress have targeted Republicans.
But in some cases, there appear to be deeper links between the agenda of the donor and CREW’s attacks.
In February 2006, CREW asked the Senate Finance Committee to investigate the Center for Union Facts, an anti-union group, and its sister organization, the Center for Consumer Freedom, which CREW claimed are “front organizations for for-profit industry entities.”
The complaint noted that the Center for Union Facts Web site had “negative information about unions,” including the Service Employees International Union. Later that year, CREW launched a Freedom of Information Act request, followed by a lawsuit, to get the Department of Labor to hand over documents regarding the department’s contacts with the founder of the two centers.
On Sept. 1, 2006, CREW received $75,000 from the SEIU, according to documents that the union filed with the Department of Labor.

Read the whole sordid tale.

In summary, CREW appears to be just another DC pay-to-play operation, fronting as an "ethics watchdog" outfit.

Scamming in the name of "ethics" -- brilliant!

There is a reason that the No. 2 religious faith in Washington is Cynicism. The No. 1 faith in DC? "In God We Trust."