The day that the president tees off a final health-care reform push with a call for an up or down vote, one Democratic member of Congress announces he's stepping down from his committee chair because of an ongoing ethics investigation, and a second announces his resignation amid rumors of a sexual harassment case. What do you think will lead on the evening news? Some Democrats are actually complaining that Rangel's situation will set a bad precedent -- that committee leaders step down while under investigation after being admonished by the ethics committee. Most people would see this as a good precedent. But this is all part and parcel with the Democrats' refusal to discipline their own members for what they used to call "the culture of corruption." While Massa's decision comes as a surprise, Rangel could have been quarantined much earlier in the year, rather than seeing the latest news come as part of a wave of Democratic scandal (especially in his home state of New York) during a delicate legislative moment.
I called for the Democrats to crack down on their corrupt appearance back in September, in a post that listed four things the Democratic caucus would need to do to protect their majority. They still haven't done any of the items on the list -- pass meaningful reform legislation, improve the economy, run with the president, and crack down on their own corruption. Now their failure to control their members' shenanigans is overshadowing their last-ditch effort to do one of the few big moves that would improve their chances.
That said, I don't think either of these stories seriously jeopardizes the health-care bill's chances of passage; the structural incentives are there for the reconciliation fix plan to work.
-- Tim Fernholz
