House GOP Leader John Boehner Got his Blood Money

I was wondering what my topic should be for today. Really, after a point there's so much to choose from that it's hard to decide which atrocity rates the most attention. Then I read this post by my co-blogger Charles over at Mercury Rising, on how Newt Gingrich and his fellow Republican corruption mongers escaped prison terms, and I knew. In fact, the post is so good that I'm going to reprint it in its entirety, below the fold, with some additional commentary.

From Mercury Rising:

In the course of the long political war that has at last exposed the massive corruption in the Republican party, no battle was more important than bringing to light Newt Gingrich's slimy dealings. At the end of it, Gingrich reached an agreement with the House Ethics Committee to permit himself to be rebuked and fined $300,000. And then, in a classic Gingrich move, he conspired with other Republicans to spin the rebuke. He largely succeeded, setting the stage for the hubris of the Abramoff Republicans to run rampant.