As The Washington Post reported yesterday, ethics should prove a big issue in elections this November. It got me to wondering – in just how many races will ethics be a defining issue?
This is the year of Jack Abramoff, after all, and though lobbying reform itself has turned into a joke, corruption itself should loom large as a political issue. But how large?
Here’s where we need some help from you, the reader. Is your rep feeling heat about a lobbyist-funded junket, a particularly egregious instance of cronyism, or a sweet kickback deal? Let us know about it. We’ll be compiling a master list of muck-heavy races to keep an eye on as part of our upcoming Elections 2006 project.
To help, send in your rep’s name, a brief description of the muck, and, if possible, a link to a supporting article.
Our preliminary count looks like this:
In the Senate:
Conrad Burns (R-MT)
Katherine Harris (R-FL)
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)
In the House:
Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH)
Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA)
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA)
Duke Cunningham special election – Brian Bilbray
Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC)
Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY)
Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY)
Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA)
Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA)
Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV)
