Can We Start Holding Democrats Accountable Now?

The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington released a report on May 20 showing the members of Congress currently under investigation for various illegal and unethical activities. Given the claim, back in 2007, that Democrats were ushering in a new era of honesty, one would expect Republicans (those knuckle-dragging dinosaurs of a bygone era of snatching children in the night) to dominate the report. However, according to CREW, 12 of the 16 Members of Congress under investigation are Democrats.

Over the last few years, Democrats have made huge outcries over various corruption and ethics issues with Republicans. In the current Congress, however, Ways & Means committee chairman Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY) has been under investigation for almost nine months for tax evasion (kind of directly illegal), and he is still sitting pretty on his pedestal. (See a member of the HotAir.com staff confront him about his ethics.) Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, is also under investigation for “VIP” mortgages since 2003 from Countrywide Financial. (Purely coincidentally, I’m sure, Dodd has received more money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than any other politicians: $133,900 combined, according to opensecrets.com). What is the House Democratic response? According to em>Politico<, they blocked Jeff Flake’s (R-AZ) investigation into John Murtha (D-PA) and other Democratic veterans. (Murtha is also a star on the CREW list.)

In 2006, Republicans joined in the outcry to oust Larry Craig for unethical behavior. When will Democrats join Republicans in applying ethical standards to their own party as well as to their opponents?