Sleazebag Image of All Pols A “Silver Lining” for Dems – Democrats used to protest when Nixon’s defenders said “they all do it.” More recently Democratic defenders of Clinton(s), and now Torricelli, protest that they are no worse than the Republicans (an interesting argument, given how bad they think the Republicans are).
Over the years these arguments have worked, at least in New Jersey. (A receding tide lowers all boats?). According to the Washington Post today, “N.J. Voters Unfazed by Torricelli’s Troubles.”
“Don’t forget we’ve had mayors and members of Congress go to jail,” said political scientist Ross K. Baker of Rutgers University. “We had a senator ensnared in Abscam. The mayors of Camden sort of queue up to go to jail.”
In June, a Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers poll found that 64 percent of New Jersey voters think that most people who go into politics do so for personal gain, and 69 percent think that once in office, politicians “look out more for their own interests than for those of the public.” The poll also found that voters think that for every 10 politicians, about half are corrupt.
And they think politicians elsewhere are no cleaner than theirs, the poll found.
Democratic officials invoked these findings today as a silver lining to the gloomy news.
It would appear that, at least in New Jersey, the sleazier all politicians are regarded, the better the Democrats’ chances.
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