The WP tries to balance the parties' trouble (VandeHei, natch) but the list of heavy hitters on the gop side makes that laughable - Burns, Lewis, Doolittle, Pombo and Ney are all "threatened by corruption charges". And get this: an anonymous source says that Republicans are basing their strategy for reform policy on whether or not Ney gets indicted! Gotta love the principles involved in that decision.
Corruption Issue Comes to Fore
Reed Is Seen as First Casualty, and Parties Brace for MoreWhile political corruption has failed so far to take root as a national issue, the defeat of scandal-stained Ralph Reed in Georgia on Tuesday showed that federal investigators could tip some key House and Senate races this fall, according to party strategists.
Republicans worry that more than six candidates for the House and Senate could be hurt by Justice Department investigations, the courts and revelations in the Abramoff affair. Topping the list are Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) and Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), both bruised by Abramoff connections and facing tough races.
Republicans worry that more than six candidates for the House and Senate could be hurt by Justice Department investigations, the courts and revelations in the Abramoff affair......
Anticipating more bad news, House GOP leaders are privately discussing a pre-election plan to compromise with the Senate on legislation clamping down on lobbyists and member perks, according to a GOP source familiar with the effort.
The source, who discussed the plan on the condition of anonymity, said that if Ney or other Republicans are indicted, House leaders will drop their demands to include strict curbs on the special-interest election spending that favored Democrats in 2004 and quickly pass the lobbying bill to provide political cover to candidates.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071901714.html 
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