Democrats’ Ethics Message Carries Some Risk
Roll Call Staff
Long before House Democrats decided to wage a campaign against Republican corruption, they considered the likelihood that some of their own Members could get caught up in the web of allegations and be taken down for their own ethical missteps.
Democrats pressed ahead anyway, believing that majority Republicans had abused too much power and committed too many unethical, and maybe even illegal, acts at the highest levels of power for the party to stay silent.
Democrats felt then, and say now, that even if some in the minority are having to grapple with their own ethical problems, the public will hold the party in charge accountable for the way government is run.
“This country shouldn’t be for sale,” said Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), ranking member on the Rules Committee. “What’s happening now goes beyond a mistake that an individual Member may make in their personal or professional life.”
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said it is the Republicans who have watched the indictment of their one-time Majority Leader, and who pushed the K Street Project to ensure that lobbyists represent one party, their own. And, he said, it is the Republicans who continue to ignore qualifications by awarding contracts and giving appointments to their friends.
“Republicans are the face, the image of this culture of corruption,” Emanuel said.
Still, at least one Democratic Member is under federal investigation, several have been accused of improper and possibly illegal activity, one is facing a House ethics probe and a former Democratic lawmaker is headed to prison after illegally diverting taxpayer funds.
In the last case, one-time Rep. Frank Ballance (D-N.C.) was recently sentenced to four years in prison for funneling public money to his family and law firm through a foundation he helped found. Ballance resigned his House seat last May, citing health problems, before even finishing one full term.
In the meantime, Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) has been the recent subject of a federal probe over his dealings with a Virginia-based high-tech company. The probe included an FBI sting operation and has involved searches of his home, office and vehicle.
Also, questions have arisen in recent months about past ethical practices of Democratic Reps. John Conyers (Mich.), Jim McDermott (Wash.), John Murtha (Pa.) and Maxine Waters (Calif.).
In McDermott’s case, the House ethics committee has established an investigative subcommittee to look into the Washington lawmaker’s role in distributing an illegally taped phone call between House GOP leaders in in 1997. Currently, McDermott is the only Member for whom an ethics subcommittee has been authorized.
In the meantime, Conyers, Waters and Murtha have each faced questions from media and watchdog groups for allegedly using their positions and Congressional offices to steer business to family members.
Carl Forti, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Democrats “clearly have their own problems” — even as high as Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was once cited for setting up an illegal political action committee.
“I’ve said from the time this thing started, that that’s going to be a big hurdle for them to overcome,” Forti said.
“You can’t run a national campaign on an issue when their own house is dirty,” he added.
But Democrats say questions about a few of their own are to be expected, given that they are taking on a powerful Republican political machine that is not shy about going on the offensive. And, Democrats say, it should be no surprise that as the public and media hone in on ethical problems within government, some Democrats will inevitably come under the microscope as well.
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