Can ethics issues tip party control of Congress?

A Democratic campaign consultant recently said he was urging his clients to emphasize three themes in their election fights against Republicans: first, the economy, including the affordability of such things as food, fuel, healthcare and housing; second, the war in Iran, including the lack of coherent objectives and goals, and its seeming interminability; and third, ethics in government — the sexual and financial scandals in Congress and the executive branch.

I have previously opined that the recent spike in congressional sexual misconduct cases, mostly involving members’ office staff, may affect the outcomes in those specific districts and races, but will not have a disproportionate impact on one party or the other nationally. Sexual misconduct is an equal-opportunity destroyer. 

In looking over ethics cases in this Congress, there are slightly more Republicans than Democrats who have been tainted by ethics scandals. The unethical conduct charges being hurled at the administration, on the other hand, involving conflicts of interest, financial self-dealing, and use of law enforcement against political enemies, are legion. These do not seem to bother the public as much as sex scandals, but they can become a factor when the public perceives their cumulative effects on good governance.

Still, the odoriferous vapors rising inside the beltway cannot be ruled out as irrelevant to the upcoming midterm elections. It’s not just the smell of blooming algae and peeling blue paint fumes from the reflecting pool (though those do have a whiff of a no-bid contract vandal scandal).........

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