Major Reform Opportunities Follow Major Scandals in Washington
FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | August 10, 2018
“Since he became President, Trump has presided over the most corrupt and unethical administration in modern memory.”
Yesterday, Representative Chris Collins (R-NY) was indicted for violating insider trading rules. A very powerful case was spelled out against him in the indictment.
This week also saw a detailed article in Forbes about Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that alleged he wrongly siphoned or outright stole more than $120 million from partners and investors. The article also said that Ross signed a sworn statement that he had divested all the assets he committed to sell to avoid conflicts of interest as Secretary, and that that statement was not true.
Does corruption in Washington matter to voters? Do citizens care when they cast their votes for President, Representative, and Senator? Some believe that voters see all politicians in Washington in the same light when it comes to corruption, and thus do not make their voting choices based on it.
One politician who strongly disagreed with this is now the President of the United States. In 2016, Donald Trump campaigned heavily on the corruption issue and the message of “draining the swamp” in Washington.
Since he became President, however, Trump has presided over the most corrupt and unethical administration in modern memory.
History shows that when major scandals occur in Washington, corruption becomes a potent voting issue.
The 1974 midterms following the Watergate scandals resulted in 91 new members elected to the House and the 2006 elections following the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandals resulted in Democrats regaining control of the House after 12 years of Republican control.
House candidates in 1974 and 2006 campaigned heavily on the corruption issue. House Democrats are preparing to do the same in 2018 and have adopted a comprehensive democracy reform agenda as a priority for early House action in 2019 if they win control in November.
History also shows that major reform opportunities follow major scandals in Washington.
A new broad coalition, which includes Democracy 21, is being formed to lead a national battle for enactment of comprehensive democracy reforms, beginning in 2019.
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Fred Wertheimer is the Founder and President of Democracy 21, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to strengthen our democracy and ensure the integrity and fairness of government decisions and elections.
