Democrat Harry Reid, who was quick to jump on the “culture of corruption” campaign while conveniently ignoring his very own connections, has once again been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid accepted free ringside tickets from the Nevada Athletic Commission to three professional boxing matches while that state agency was trying to influence him on federal regulation of boxing.

Reid, D-Nev., took the free seats for Las Vegas fights between 2003 and 2005 as he was pressing legislation to increase government oversight of the sport, including the creation of a federal boxing commission that Nevada’s agency feared might usurp its authority.

So, about that whole “culture of corruption” thing…

Several ethics experts said Reid should have paid for the tickets, which were close to the ring and worth between several hundred and several thousand dollars each, to avoid the appearance he was being influenced by gifts.

Normally, I’d ask, “what if this had been a Republican”… but in this case, I don’t have to ask, because two Republicans did join Reid at the fights. Compare their actions with his.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., insisted on paying $1,400 for the tickets he shared with Reid for a 2004 championship fight. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., accepted free tickets to another fight with Reid but already had recused himself from Reid’s federal boxing legislation because his father was an executive for a Las Vegas hotel that hosts fights.

So, about that whole “culture of corruption” thing…

Update: While liberals are still rushing to defend Reid’s corrupt behvaior (even in the very comments to this post), Reid, himself, is acknowledging the wrongdoing:

Reversing course, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid’s office acknowledged Wednesday night he misstated the ethics rules governing his acceptance of free boxing tickets and has decided to avoid taking such gifts in the future.