Steve Kagen's Failure to End Corruption

Steve Kagen is a Democrat representing Wisconsin's 8th congressional district. The ad below is from one of his previous campaigns. In it he promises to, "end the corrupt ways in Washington." The ad even includes a graphic that lists "ending corruption" as one of "Steve Kagen's Changes."

The general election is only about two months away, so I thought it was worthwhile to see how Kagen has fared on this count. Unfortunately, the answer is not well at all.

Ethics inquiries in Congress increase this year - USATODAY.com

WASHINGTON — The number of ethics cases launched in Congress has jumped dramatically in the past year, putting a focus on allegations of misconduct by lawmakers heading into November's elections....

In the first six months of this year, an independent congressional watchdog began 44 ethics investigations, up from 24 during the same period in 2009. The Office of Congressional Ethics has recommended that the House ethics committee take action against 13 lawmakers.

I freely admit that the title of this post is somewhat cynical since I personally do not believe it is possible, with a few rare exceptions, for a single member of the House to end corruption in Washington. But why would Kagen make such a claim in the first place? I can think of three reasons, none of which are flattering: This was just your standard empty campaign rhetoric that so many people denounce, but that appears in copious amounts every two years; Kagen is ignorant of human nature or of how the House of Representatives operates, or both; Kagen's ego actually permits him to believe he is capable of affecting such a change.

You Tube has the ad titled as "Enough". I know I've had enough. Have you?

Steve Kagen - Enough