Ethical Vacuum

As the Washington Post notes today, the increasing numbers of scandals have damaged the public's view of Congress. Since 2001, the approval rating of Congress has fallen from 59 percent to 37 percent. While Republicans are under investigation in most of the alleged scandals, Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) is also under investigation. This highlights what will be a prevalent theme in the 2006 midterm elections: the damage in reputation on incumbents. Any indication that incumbents are involved in either their own scandals or tied to lobbyist Jack Abramoff could spell trouble for even Congressmen in otherwise safe districts (at least narrowing their leads) and could produce a slate of blowback candidates spurred into running primary challenges against incumbents that would have had no chance without increasing concern over corruption in Congress. In the districts with those lobbyists most seriously under investigation, DeLay (TX) and Ney (OH) in particular, a serious challenge could be posed to the incumbents and it is possible that they could be deposed. That having been said, because the power is in the hands of the Republicans, they have the means by which to encourage corruption. While there may be worries by voters about incumbents of all political stripes, it is most likely that corrupt Republicans (or even those with an odor of corruption will be tossed out in favor of Dems.