Corruption: THE Talking Point for 2006
By Jonathan Singer
The Ipsos polling firm conducted a new round of polling for the Associated Press over the first half of this week, the topline results of which have been released online (download in PDF). Unsurprisingly, the poll finds Americans quite concerned about political corruption in the country.
How serious a problem is political corruption in the United States today? Would you say
Very serious — 51
Somewhat serious — 37
Not too serious — 8
Not at all serious — 3
Not sure — 1
Total Serious — 88
Total Not Serious — 11
How widespread do you think corruption is in public service in America? Would you say
Hardly anyone is involved — 1
A small number of people are involved — 20
A moderate number of people are involved — 39
A lot of people are involved — 28
Almost everyone is involved — 10
Not sure — 2
Total Hardly Anyone/A Small Number — 21
Total A Lot/Almost Everyone — 38
In general, which elected officials would you say are more ETHICAL?
Democrats — 36
Republicans — 33
Both equally — 10
Neither is ethical — 15
Not sure — 6
As you can see, an overwhelming majority of Americans believe that political corruption in a serious problem — including a majority who call it a very serious problem. While these feelings will more adversely affect Republicans than Democrats simply due to the fact that the GOP is in power, the Democrats clearly have more work to do to convince Americans that they are more ethical than Republicans. Luckily, Republicans are helping them out in this endeavor, as Erica Werner reports for the AP.
Two defense contractors at the center of ex-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's bribery case also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to curry favor with other influential lawmakers, records show.
One contractor, Brent Wilkes, provided private jet flights to lawmakers, including Reps. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who is serving as majority leader while DeLay fights money-laundering charges in Texas.
Wilkes also raised at least $100,000 for President Bush's 2004 re-election bid and donated more than $70,000 to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who appointed him to two state boards.
There's no indication that these donations were improper. Prosecutors have not suggested that the investigation that snared Cunningham, R-Calif. — who resigned last week after pleading guilty to taking $2.4 million in bribes — involves other lawmakers.
Wilkes and defense contractor Mitchell Wade, along with their families and companies, donated generously to dozens of political campaigns — mostly Republican — beginning in the 1990s.
It won't take much for Democrats to parlay Republicans' bad government activities into electoral success in 2006, but in order for them to be successful, they will have to show voters that they are indeed more ethical than Republicans. While this fact seems apparent to those on this side of the blogosphere, as the aforementioned poll notes, there are still a lot of people — a majority, in fact — who do not see Democrats as being more ethical than Republicans.
In the coming months, it would behoove the Democratic leadership in both the House and the Senate to offer up a series of proposals to clean up Washington. These cannot merely pay lip service to those concerned about the climate inside the Beltway; rather, these proposals must entail real reform of the institutions that make Washington run. And while the specific details of such plans will inevitably be complicated — dismantling the K Street Project won't be the easiest activity — explanations of their causes and intended results need not.
With both tangible actions and effective messaging, Democrats should be able to go from parity on the question of which party is more ethical to a strong advantage. And should this occur, the Dems will have a real shot at picking up a whole lot of seats come November.
