Corruption is everywhere in the capitol these days, according to an editorial in the CS Monitor. Like most writeups on the seemingly recent discovery of mass corruption in the Republican government, the article attempts for the most part to maintain a sense that both parties are equally corrupt and responsible for both the marginal and brazen acts that legislators have been caught doing. However, the article does slip up toward the end, stating
Other recent ethics scandals in Washington, almost all involving Republicans, point to weaknesses in current laws and a need for some sort of public campaign financing.
However, the article quickly recovers, continuing
They also highlight Congress’s inaction toward further campaign-finance reform and ethics watchdogging – an inaction that seems purposeful: “Members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, have used ethics allegations as a political weapon for years,” Common Cause stated after Cunningham’s guilty plea.
While ethics allegations have been used by both parties over the years, culminating in a huge abuse of power with the impeachment of Bill Clinton (which is worse, a false war or lying about sex?), the truth here is that the culture of corruption is most prominently a Republican phenonmenon, with the revolving door between lobbyists, corporate powers, Congress, and the Executive Bracnch being the primary culprit. Those running the show are solely in it to enrich themselves, with Cunningham only the most visible and egregious example to date.