Green: I need DeLay's dirty money to beat Doyle

I suggested yesterday that it was time for Rep. Mark Green to get his story straight on the $30,000 in poliltical action committee money he took from Tom DeLay.

Democrats have been asking for weeks for Green to return the money.

First Green said it would be illegal to return it.

Then he said he didn't have it; it was already spent.

Then he said he had actually only transferred $2,000 in DeLay money from his federal to his state account, as part of a $1.3-million shift of money (a shift that has since been made illegal for future candidates).

Today's position is that yes, he does have $2,000 of DeLay money, but he's not going to return it unless DeLay is convicted of money laundering or other charges.

Green has other legal options to divest himself of the $30,000. He could give it to a non-partisan voter education and registration project. And he could give $5,000 a year to DeLay's PAC -- $5000 now and $5000 in January.

With something like $1.5-million or more in the bank, why doesn't Green just cut the DeLay ties now, instead of getting beaten up every day? Bruce Murphy at Milwaukee Magazine wonders, too.

Mark Graul -- whose own ties to DeLay's buddy, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, are making some news, explained to the Wisconsin State Journal:

While he said Green may return the $2,000, he rejected Democrats' calls to donate the balance of the $30,000 to a voter registration effort.

"We need the money to beat Jim Doyle," Graul said.

"Mark Green needs Tom DeLay's money to beat Jim Doyle." Does anyone feel a commercial coming next year?