If you’re like me, you’ve been talking about the rampant corruption in the Republican party lately. But, from time to time, people ask you “what corruption?” Sure, they man know about DeLay and Frist. Some of them may even have heard of Abramoff.

But they probably haven’t heard the whole litany including Thomas Noe (CoinGate), Governor George Ryan of Illinois, Governor Robert Taft of Ohio, Representative Randy “Duke Cunningham, and on and on and on. (For a complete round-up, I suggest Salon, which is keeping a running tally.)

When you talk about a “Culture of Corruption,” or, as I like to call it, the Republican COC, people may not make the connection between the dozen or so corrupt Republicans and their leader, the great and mighty Bush. Well, here is one way to help make that connection: Abramoff, Noe and Cunningham are all Bush Pioneers. That means that each of them has raised at least $100,000 for Bush. Not coincidentally, a lot of these political donations now appear to have happened around the same time they’re each alleged to have commited crimes (theft, money laundering, fraud, etc.).

So remember to do this: whenever you refer to one of these individuals, precede their name with the word “Pioneer.” As in, “Pioneer Abramoff was indicted for bank fraud.” If they don’t already know what a pioneer is, this opens up the conversation so you can connect the dirty little dots.