The "Culture of Corruption" Is Dead!
By Thomas Lindaman (06/08/06)
Yep, you read that right. The “culture of corruption” died on June 6, 2006, due to complications in getting anybody outside of the Democratic Party to pay attention to it. Services will be held at DNC Headquarters in Washington, DC.
Before you shoot me angry emails about this statement (or shoot me, period), let me explain. The “culture of corruption” in politics still exists. Nobody was elected or defeated that would have made the dishonest scumbags in Congress (Isn’t that redundant?) be any more honest. Hopefully, we’ll take care of that part of the equation in the fall.
What I mean is that the “culture of corruption” as an issue is dead. And we have California voters to thank for it. A seat was opened up when Representative Randy “Duke” Cunningham (formerly R-CA, now R-Ft. Leavenworth) was indicted on charges of bribery. Democrats saw this as a golden opportunity for them to take a House seat away from the GOP and beat the “culture of corruption” drum at the same time. However, Republican Brian Bilbray defeated Democrat Francine Busby, so the seat stays Republican. But the bigger impact is that voters weren’t affected by the “culture of corruption” talk the Democrats put out there in lieu of an actual strategy.
Although political strategists and commentators from both sides of the aisle expressed concern about how the Republicans would react to charges of corruption, I was never convinced the idea as a political issue had legs. After I expressed such a notion in “What If There Was A Scandal and Nobody Cared?” I was scoffed at, ridiculed, told I was stupid, and had insults hurled at me from all directions. And the comments from people outside my family were even worse! And now with the Bilbray victory, I think it’s safe for me to say…told ya! Na-na-na-na booboo!
But before I get too caught up in the “I Was Right Again Dance,” it’s important that we review why the “culture of corruption” concept never really caught on with people.
1) There was nothing to fire up the electorate. Politicians taking bribes to push legislation? So what else is new? You can’t get people fired up to take down corrupt politicians if the people believe every politician is corrupt. Democrats oversold the concept to an electorate that was flustering them by asking, “And your point is?”
2) Democrats are guilty, too. The Lindaman Law of Political Scandals is as follows: Whenever you see a politician railing against something the other side is doing, it’s a safe bet the other side is guilty of the same thing. As bad as the Cunningham situation was for the Republicans, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is caught up in something equally as bad by accepting free ringside boxing tickets in exchange for promoting legislation that would help the boxing industry. Try lambasting Republicans as corrupt with that hanging over your head.
3) Democrats have their own scandals to worry about. As much fun as it has been for Nancy Pelosi to attack the Republican “culture of corruption,” she’s had to drink a tall, cool glass of Shut Up Juice in the light of the Cynthia McKinney and Patrick Kennedy scandals. One slugged a cop, the other drove impaired, and both have undercut any Democrat momentum on hurting the GOP on their scandals.
And finally…
4) There are bigger issues out there. On a slow news day, the “culture of corruption” would get serious airplay. Unfortunately, these aren’t slow news days. With the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the standoff with Iran, the illegal immigration issue, and the most important issue of our time, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s new baby girl, networks and the print media have to decide what to cover. In that kind of news environment, the story wouldn’t get much play even if you dressed up Nancy Pelosi in a thong bikini. (Okay, I’m sorry for that mental image. Please don’t sue me if you get scarred for life.)
So, let’s face it. The “culture of corruption” as a political issue is no more. It was fun while it lasted, but now it’s gone to meet its maker. The question is what do we now that it’s gone.
Me? I’ll be over in the corner doing the “I Was Right Again Dance.”
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