For Democratic Congressman William Jefferson (La.), the other shoe finally dropped. But the real question is: What took it so long?
It’s been almost two years since federal investigators found $90,000 hidden in the freezer of his Louisiana home. If you ask me, they should have put this guy away a long time ago.
But make no mistake about it. The case of William Jefferson is far different from the case of Tom DeLay. The former is an isolated case of one member of Congress using his office for personal gain — and getting caught.
DeLay, on the other hand, is but one link in a long chain of Republican congressmen, all tied to crooked lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and all willing to trade legislative favors in return for campaign cash and other goodies. So far, only DeLay and Bob Ney have fallen — but others are bound to follow.
William Jefferson’s a cancer on the body politic. And, now that he’s been indicted, Democrats should demand Jefferson’s resignation or toss him out of the House. Then the real House-cleaning can begin.
Once Jefferson’s gone, the lone example of Democratic wrongdoing will be gone. But the leftover stink of pervasive Republican corruption will remain — until they, too, are all in jail.