Collegiate Times

Throughout the 109th Congress (2005-2007), Democrats led by then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid railed against the Republican "culture of corruption" and similarly the iron fist leadership style supposedly employed by House Republicans. One might expect that Democrats, having campaigned so heavily on ethics reform in the run-up to their takeover of Congress in 2006, would have squeaky clean ethics records in both chambers, and similarly, would treat the new republican minority with the fairness that had allegedly been denied Democrats previously. As could be expected of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the rest of the Democratic Party, honesty and ethics don't seem to be a particular strength.

Despite baseless, partisan attacks on members of the Republican leadership, the 109th Congress absolutely contained some despicable characters. From San Diego Republican Congressman and now convicted felon Randy "Duke" Cunningham and his bribery checklist, to Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), now housed in a cell in West Virginia for his crimes, to disgraced former Representative Mark Foley with his fondness for young male pages, the republican conference of the past Congress contained a number of disgraceful figures. In fact, there are quite likely Republican members still in Congress, who have yet to be dealt justice, and hopefully that will happen soon.

That having been said, Democrats who played up the notion of a "culture of corruption" among Republicans, have some explaining to do and quite a few embarrassments of their own for a party attempting to cling to such a high moral and ethical standard. As the 110th Congress opened, Speaker Nancy Pelosi backed John Murtha (D-Pa.) for House Majority Leader; a questionable pick considering Murtha was named an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the 1980 ABSCAM bribery scandal, in which an FBI sting caught Murtha on tape discussing cash in exchange for political favors with a faux Arab businessman. On tape, Murtha declines, saying, "I'm not interested … at this time," clearly leaving open future consideration. He failed to report the attempted bribe — another violation of House ethics rules itself.

Last Congress, as noted by The Washington Times in June 2006, Murtha was implicated in using his post as ranking member on the defense appropriations subcommittee to funnel contracts to companies represented by his brother, Murtha, whose lobbying firm represents 10 companies that received more than $20 million from last year's defense spending bill.

Other examples of corrupt Democrats include Rep. Alan Mollohan (D- W.Va.) and Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.). Mollohan, who would have become chairman of the House ethics committee, had Democrats not recognized the public relations disaster that would accompany it, saw his personal wealth jump for $562,000 in 2000 to $6.3 million in 2006. During the same time span, The Washington Post reported that Mollohan steered $150 million dollars to several nonprofits groups he helped establish in his district. Coincidence? Unlikely. A federal investigation is ongoing.

While a prison cell is being prepared in a federal penitentiary for Rep. Jefferson, another model of integrity in the 110th Congress, Pelosi appointed him to a seat on the Homeland Security Committee despite him being videotaped in August 2005 in an FBI sting accepting $100,000 in marked bills from a Northern Virginia investor and then a few days later, having $90,000 worth of the marked bills recovered from his freezer during a raid. The money was accepted as part of Jefferson's plan to pay off Nigerian officials in exchange for contracts.

Turning to the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has some explaining to do. Republicans are typically tied to corrupt super lobbyist and now convicted felon Jack Abramoff, but plenty of Democrats, including Reid, did business with Abramoff. According to The Associated Press, Reid collected nearly $68,000 in campaign contributions for Abramoff clients over a three-year period, including infamous Indian tribes who Abramoff hosed for millions. In January, the Los Angeles Times reported that Reid received land in expanding Mohave County, Arizona that typically sells for $1600 per acre for $166 per acre from a Las Vegas petroleum lubricants executive. This may seem strange until you factor in that sometime before, Reid had lobbied for policies in the Senate that would benefit the petroleum lubricants industry.

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