Mollohan Story: How It Could Hurt

As serious as it may be for Mollohan, this morning's WSJ expose may carry an even greater risk for Nancy Pelosi and her hopes to become Speaker in January.

For all their effort, the NRCC has not been able to put the William Jefferson investigation front and center. Though there still may well be more indictments to come in that case, it has not captured the attention of the Washington press corps so as to lessen the fallout from the Duke-stir, DeLay and Abramoff scandals as the GOP had hoped.

The danger for Dems in the Mollohan case is that they may not be able to make the argument -- as the GOP tried to with Cunningham and as Dems likely will should Jefferson's case progress -- that this is merely an isolated incident. The actions taken by Mollohan - and we must remind that he has not been charged with wrongdoing - have nothing to do with a "culture of corruption" or a "K St. Project." Instead, they are representative of how some in Congress do business and how, in particular, those who sit on the Approps committee are, how shall we put it, uniquely situated to do that business.

In other words, it says that the whole system is rotten and it ain't just one side of the aisle that milks it.

Yes, the GOP is more likely to be hurt by the system because they are the ones in charge of the place, but stories such as these reinforce the notion among voters that "they all do it" while diluting the message that it is the GOP that has corrupted things. Just as damaging for Dems, such pieces also remind reporters that corruption, or at least pushing the earmark envelope, is a forbidden fruit that pols of all stripes are tempted with.

Further, it says to enterprising journalists that there may well be other Duke Cunninghams or Alan Mollohans (not that their cases are even remotely the same) to be found in their own circulation area. And more revelations of more Members playing fast and loose only fuels more voter cynicism about the whole Beltway crowd.

Lastly, of all the 201 Dems in the House, Pelosi and Co. have to be asking themselves today: Why, oh why, does it have to be our ethics committee ranking member who is now under federal investigation?

Were it not for bad luck...

[JONATHAN MARTIN and JOSH KRAUSHAAR]