Congress & Ethics

As an off year elections looms and a hyper partisanship already at large increases, the behavior of congressman and women will likely become more and more relevant to considerate viewers of both the House of Representatives and our Senate. The implications of a scandal involving an incumbent pol at this juncture could be massive. Therefore a finite understanding of the Congress and how it resolves ethical matters would be germane.

First off, it is important to note that this year will be no different from others in relation to sheer amount of scandal and grandstanding that follows. Though there may be a few more or less breaking stories and different players, ethical lapses are not endemic to just one party. For instance, in the 2006 midterm elections the Republican majority suffered a precipitous drop in popularity in time for pundits to lodge their largest indictment against the Speaker’s party (I.E. Abramoff).Already marred by prior scandals including those surrounding then Majority Leader Tom Delay, the sheer impact of the aforementioned Abramoff scandal only fortified expectations of a Democratic sweep that November. With a stigma tarnishing the Republican brand already, few noticed that Abramoff had also plied his favors on Democrats in the years prior to his indictment and conviction. To put it shortly, scandal and ethical violations can also involve the opposition though less will likely take notice.