The New Republican Party: A Fellowship of Felons?nin

With today's news that California congressman Duke Cunningham pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and tax fraud, it seems that the line of felonious - and alleged felonious - Republican lawbreakers...I mean...lawmakers continues to lengthen.

When you factor in the potentially significant number of Republicans on Capitol Hill who are facing possible charges in the Jack Abramoff "LobbyGate" morass, the federal government soon may need to build a new right wing onto Leavenworth. What is it with these people? They just can't seem to stop subverting their avowed moral values in order to enhance their bank account values.

Former House Majority Leader Tom Delay is still in hot water for allegedly violating Texas' campaign finance laws. Current Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is still under investigation by the SEC for apparent insider trading. Of course, former Vice Presidential Chief of Staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby is under indictment for perjury in the CIA leak case. And who knows how many others may eventually be called on the carpet in that continually evolving scandal?

Yes, 2005 is shaping up as a banner year for criminal indictments of publicly-elected officials in Washington.

The good news is that these cretins are getting caught and being brought to justice. And we're talking about the good old, all-American kind of justice, too, not the "send them off to the old Soviet gulag" kind that we've been hearing about lately, although perhaps that would give them a nice taste of their own medicine.

The bad news is...well...I think you can figure that out.