Background: Further Reading on the GOP and the Independent Ethics Commmittee

[tassosss]

What happened?
Washington Post
House Republicans back off gutting ethics watchdog after backlash from Trump

What's the Office of Congressional Ethics?
The Hill
Why Republicans took aim at an ethics watchdog

Democrats created the OCE after winning the 2006 elections in part on a promise to “drain the swamp” — a phrase President-elect Donald Trump co-opted in the final weeks of the presidential campaign.

At the time, the public was clamoring for Washington to clean up Capitol Hill after the corruption and bribery scandal involving former super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff that ensnared several lawmakers and aides.

Then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) set up a bipartisan panel that developed a plan to hold members more accountable. OCE was the result.

What might it mean for how Congress moves forward?
Vox
Saving the congressional ethics office isn’t as big a victory as it seems
The fight wasn’t won by norms. It was won by power.

Here’s the thing about relying on the expectation of public backlash to dissuade politicians from doing something: It has to work every single time. The first time a politician does something despite being warned that the public will reject him for it, and that rejection doesn’t materialize — or it materializes, but not strongly enough or for long enough to drive him from office — he’s free to dismiss any future warning of backlash as so much noise.

If you have other relevant links, please share them in comments.

Comments

[snickfic]

Thank you for the links to additional context and background reading!

[tassosss]

You're welcome!