Rash of Scandals Tests Democrats at Sensitive Time

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

WASHINGTON — The ethical woes facing Democrats are piling up, with barely a day passing in recent weeks without headlines from Washington to New York and beyond filled with word of scandal or allegations of wrongdoing.

The troubles of Gov. David A. Paterson of New York, followed by those of two of the state’s congressmen, Charles B. Rangel and Eric J. Massa, have added to the ranks of episodes involving prominent Democrats like Eliot Spitzer, Rod R. Blagojevich and John Edwards.

Taken together, the cases have opened the party to the same lines of criticism that Democrats, led by Representatives Nancy Pelosi, now the House speaker, and Rahm Emanuel, now White House chief of staff, used effectively against Republicans in winning control of the House and Senate four years ago.

The mix of power and the temptations of corruption can be a compelling political narrative at any time. But with voters appearing to be in an angry mood and many already inclined to view all things Washington with mistrust, the risks for Democrats could be that much greater this year.

With Election Day still eight months away, there is time to avert a history-is-repeating-itself storyline. But Democrats, who are already on the defensive over the economy, health care and federal spending and are facing a re-energized conservative movement, suddenly have a set of ethical issues to deflect as well. “Speaker Pelosi famously promised the most open, honest and ethical Congress in history,” Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader, said Thursday. “Yet here we go again.”

In 2006, when Democrats were battling for control of the House, the message of their campaign against the Republicans could be boiled down to a three-word slogan: culture of corruption. Democratic leaders aggressively seized on each indictment of a Republican member of Congress or lobbyist, building an argument that the controlling party had become arrogant and was in urgent need of a housecleaning.

So is that moment — in reverse fashion — now approaching for Democrats?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/05/us/politics/05memo.html

Edited March 6, 2010 by Lone Ranger

[scandal 951]

> Rash of Scandals Tests Democrats at Sensitive Time, May I suggest Cortisone Cream?

Scandal this, and Scandal that. All day long it's Scandal, Scandal, Scandal. Sheesh! I'm trying to take a nap!

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I'm just glad they're not pulling some GOP style Jiu-Jitsu - remember 2004?

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives changed their rules so that Majority Leader Tom DeLay could stay in power if he's indicted by a Texas grand jury.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I'm just glad they're not pulling some GOP style Jiu-Jitsu - remember 2004?

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives changed their rules so that Majority Leader Tom DeLay could stay in power if he's indicted by a Texas grand jury.

That was definitely a bonehead move for sure!

ETA: Rangel's problems have been going on for a long time, but the media didn't play it the same way as they did the Hammer. Nor did the press follow the Jim Wright affair that closely either.

Edited March 6, 2010 by Lone Ranger

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Wright

[Ban Hammer 13,349]

Scandal this, and Scandal that. All day long it's Scandal, Scandal, Scandal. Sheesh! I'm trying to take a nap!

dude, go to the doc and get rid of that rash!