Maybe it's finally sinking in that voters aren't so keen on their elected officials peddling influence, funnelling dirty money, taking bribes, and selling access. It seems as though Ralph Reed's primary loss in Georgia was a wake-up call. Today's Washington Post has a good article on how the corruption issue is worrying both parties:
Republicans worry that more than six candidates for the House and Senate could be hurt by Justice Department investigations, the courts and revelations in the Abramoff affair. Topping the list are Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) and Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), both bruised by Abramoff connections and facing tough races.
Anticipating more bad news, House GOP leaders are privately discussing a pre-election plan to compromise with the Senate on legislation clamping down on lobbyists and member perks, according to a GOP source familiar with the effort. The source, who discussed the plan on the condition of anonymity, said that if Ney or other Republicans are indicted, House leaders will drop their demands to include strict curbs on the special-interest election spending that favored Democrats in 2004 and quickly pass the lobbying bill to provide political cover to candidates.
I especially like how they'll consider effective lobby reform as a "political cover," but not on its merits. Democrats discussed are Reps. Jefferson (LA) and Mollohan (WV). The other Republicans mentioned are Reps. Lewis, Doolittle, and Pombo, all from California; Tom DeLay makes a cameo appearance.
It's a good breakdown of exactly why politicians should care about scandals and corruption. Let's hope it's a lesson that sticks with them.
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