Congressman Renzi Indicted

Congressman Rick Renzi (R-AZ) was indicted on Friday on 35 counts. The charges include conspiracy, money laundering, extortion, insurance and wire fraud. Although the FBI raided his wife’s business earlier this year, he admits to no wrongdoing. He isn’t seeking re-election, but his case could weigh on the GOP’s electoral changes as it deepens the party’s current sleazy image.

Early Reuters reports stated, “The indictment stems from [a] plan by Renzi and an associate to benefit from a land-exchange plan in order to receive Renzi's support for necessary federal legislation, court documents said. ‘It was an object of the conspiracy for Renzi to enrich [his associate] and personally benefit himself,’ the indictment said. It also accuses Renzi of embezzling premiums from clients of an insurance business to fund his congressional campaign.”

One must remember that Mr. Renzi has merely been indicted, and he is, in the eyes of the law, an innocent man still. His innocence or guilt, however, are moot points when it comes to the overall impression the electorate has of the Republican Party these days. The issue is the appearance of wrongdoing so distasteful that it caused his colleagues in the House to ask him to take a leave of absence while he sorted it out.

Maybe the Republicans should be grateful that his ethical cloud involves money rather than Congressional pages or importuning in an airport men’s room. Being accused of money-grubbing in the party of Wall Street is almost a virtue. Engaging in sexual acts outside of marriage by members of God’s party is much different.

If his were a unique and solitary case, one could shrug it off. Salon offered a list of 34 Republican scandals in back in 2005 that covered the first four years of Mr. Bush’s presidency. Recent events have only lengthened the list. Conservative partisans may argue that the Democrats have their own issues, and they do – Congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana had close to $100,000 in his freezer that can’t be explained away. The problem is that the Republicans are facing a tidal wave on Bush-fatigue on Election Day in about 9 months’ time, and they can’t afford to demoralize their base with much more of this – unless they like the idea of opposition for years on end.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

Kensington Review Home