The Daily Muck

The Daily Muck

hughes | December 11, 2006, 8:18AM

Jefferson Win Poses Dilemma for Party
"Rep. William J. Jefferson may be a pariah in some Washington political circles, but voters in this storm-battered city weighed in over the weekend with their own verdict regarding their scandal-plagued congressman: He's still our guy.

"Voters gave the Louisiana Democrat an emphatic reelection victory over state Rep. Karen Carter, even though his campaign had been weighted with revelations that federal authorities had videotaped him taking $100,000 in alleged bribe money, and that $90,000 of it had been found inside a freezer in his apartment in the District. The investigation led his House colleagues to dump him from a key committee, donors abandoned him and the state Democratic Party switched its allegiance to his opponent....

"[His] victory now poses a quandary for Democrats, some of whom have shunned him politically, and possibly also for the city, as leaders here seek to project an image of civic probity as they lobby for more federal money for recovery from Hurricane Katrina." (WaPo, NYTimes, The Hill)

Read more »