Burns needs to use common sense

Montana to Conrad: Give the money back.

For goodness' sake, how self-evident can a proposition be? Sen. Conrad Burns is at the top of the list of those in Congress who took donations from Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist who is under indictment for wire fraud and under investigation for bribery.

No one can say whether or not Burns did anything wrong in his dealings with Abramoff, the tribal clients whom Abramoff represented, or the Montana public. A Washington, D.C., task force is known to be investigating Abramoff's lobbying records, but Burns has not been named as a target of the probe.

Nonetheless, between the years 2001 and 2004, Conrad Burns received more campaign contributions than any other member of Congress from Abramoff and his associates - about $146,500 in total. That means Burns has become the poster child for crusaders against corruption in Congress, and every time there is a story about Jack Abramoff anywhere in the national media, there is likely to be a mention of Conrad Burns, and probably a nice little picture, too.

It's not the image Montana wants to project to the world.

But Sen. Burns says he did nothing wrong, so he is not going to return the donations. Burns is chairman of the Senate subcommittee that handles the Interior Department's budget and thus oversees spending for many American Indian programs. That's why he got the money from Abramoff and his tribal clients in the first place. Again, there is no evidence at this point that Burns did anything illegal, but that is not the point.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said he never did anything illegal either, but this week he announced he is returning $67,000 in donations he took from Indian tribes represented by Abramoff.

"Even though those contributions were legal and fully reported as required by law, I will not knowingly keep even one dollar in contributions if there is even a remote possibility that they could have been the result of any action Mr. Abramoff might have taken," Dorgan said.

Considering that Burns is facing a difficult re-election campaign, you would think he would come to the same conclusion as Sen. Dorgan: Give the money back.

It's not just the best way to avoid any hint of impropriety; it's also smart politics. This is one story you want to put behind you as quickly as possible, especially in an election year.

Considering that the senator's disapproval rating is at an all-time high of 46 percent according to Survey USA, and that his general approval among senators places him 99th on the list (ahead only of New Jersey's Frank Lautenberg), you would think he would get the message: Give the money back.

But it doesn't look like the message is getting through. Burns spokesman James Pendleton said Tuesday, "There's nothing to return; the money has been spent."

Come on, senator. The last time we looked in our wallet, there was no nametag on our dollar bills. Money is a fungible asset, and can't be pigeonholed according to source or destination. When you ask Wal-Mart for a refund, they can't just say no and tell you, "Sorry, but we can't refund your money because it was sent to a bank account in Bentonville, Arkansas, and has now been spent on cleaning supplies for a store in Michigan."

The senator's cash on hand is now over $3 million. We think he could reach in there with his eyes closed and manage to find the $146,500 he took from Abramoff in just the spare change rolling around loose at the bottom of the war chest.

Give the money back, Conrad. Otherwise, you will get your picture posted not just with stories about Abramoff, but with all future stories that define the phrase "Penny wise, pound foolish."