Amid the fallout over ethics scandals, Slate's Christopher Beam writes that the more things change, the more they stay the same:

When Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006 on a pledge to "drain the swamp" of corruption that is Washington, D.C., it seemed that Republicans would never escape the muck. Now, with November approaching, not only have Republicans reached dry land, they're poised to drown Democrats in their own ethical filth.

What's changed? Very little -- and that's the point. It's not that Republicans have become saints and Democrats have become devils. It's that Democrats are in power.

Beam notes that the staggering setback suffered by Republicans in the 2006 election was due to several scandals surrounding GOP Reps. Tom DeLay, Randy "Duke" Cunningham and others. Beam adds:

The most reliable predictor of which party will find itself enmeshed in scandal is which one is in power.

"I've always called elections the opportunity to throw the bums out and throw a new set of bums in," says Larry Sabato, political analyst and prognosticator extraordinaire of the University of Virginia. "Partisans never believe that. They think their side is golden and the opposition is a bunch of second cousins to Beelzebub."

CREW has been highly critical of ethical lapses by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), but we also recognize there is plenty of hypocrisy among some who have attacked Rangel. As Salon's Joe Conason notes:

... as the Republicans and their media epigones celebrate Rangel’s downfall, the contrast with their own typical tolerance of corruption in their own ranks is instructive.

... Five years ago, when (former Republican Congressman Tom) DeLay came under intense pressure from prosecutors, the press and watchdog groups, the National Review urged conservatives to rally around him in an editorial, noting dismissively that "many of the offenses DeLay is being accused of -— taking foreign trips funded by outside groups, attending events with lobbyists -— are committed by every congressman on Capitol Hill."

Of course taking a foreign trip funded by an outside group (with corporate support) is precisely the transgression for which the ethics committee admonished Rangel.

But the same National Review editorial suggested that official rebukes by the ethics committee are unimportant anyway, at least when directed at a Republican leader: "The [ethics] committee did warn DeLay to be more careful, the ‘admonishment’ that has played in the media as an official sanction, which it wasn't." In short, they didn’t believe an admonishment by the ethics committee was enough to get rid of DeLay, but it is reason enough to throw out Rangel ...

It would be nice to see members of both political parties treat ethics as something more than just a weapon they brandish during election years to beat up on the other party.

Representing districts in the same state isn't all that Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) have in common. According to the blog of North Carolina Policy Watch (NCPW), Tim Rupli, a lobbyist and ex-Tom Delay aide, hosted two fundraisers for Rep. McHenry last summer and one for Rep. Shuler just before Thanksgiving.

According to the NCPW blog:

Rupli made $1.69 million last year lobbying for clients like payday lenders, an anti-immigration group, a weapons-training corporation, and the obligatory pharmaceutical company.

Such lovely company McHenry and Shuler are keeping.

For what it's worth, Rupli was so close to former Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) that Ney inserted these March 2000 remarks into the Congressional Record congratulating Tim and Linda Rupli on the birth of their son (and even noted the newborn's weight).

Ex-Rep. Ney pleaded guilty in 2007 to corruption charges connected to the Jack Abramoff scandal.

According to Maureen Dowd's column today, Tom DeLay wished he could have been at our "Dancing with the Stars" watch party on Monday night.

He dropped out of politics in 2006 after a campaign finance violation indictment and ties to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

I asked DeLay about Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a watchdog group that had a “Dancing” watching party at a bar here featuring Hammer-tinis — an occasion to reiterate that DeLay was corrupt and should go to jail.

“I wish I could have gone,” said a cheery DeLay, adding that he’s not worried that his foes will skew the voting. “You can’t vote against somebody. You can only vote for me or somebody else.”

Would he want to be on another reality show?

“No,” he said. “I’d probably end up killing somebody on ‘Big Brother.’ ”

 His next reality show should be from a trial and prison. 

Last night was the premier of "Dancing with the Stars" featuring former Majority Leader and CREW’s raison d’être Tom DeLay. Let’s just say it was a moment.

To celebrate DeLay’s fall from House Majority Leader to reality show contestant, CREW held a party on Capitol Hill so friends and family would not have to watch the spectacle alone.

In one of the most surreal moments in recent pop culture (or political) memory, DeLay danced the cha-cha to "Wild Thing" with abandon. Watching him slide across the floor in his sequined vest, it was if he had never been one of the most feared and powerful leaders of all time.

To start the whipping process, DeLay’s daughter sent an email to supporters urging them to watch the show and encouraging the faithful to vote for her father as many times as possible.

Leave it to the DeLays to skirt the edges of the rules to game the system.

Now I have one thing I will ask of you - vote early, and vote often! Tom DeLay was known as the most effective Whip in modern congressional history, and now it’s our turn to “whip” the vote for him. Similar to the House of Representatives, the rules are a bit peculiar, so I’ve outlined them below.

(snip)

Unlike elections, in which each citizen gets one vote, the “DWTS” voting system allows you to vote EIGHT TIMES — the number of contestants that night — by calling 1-800-868-3408. That means you can vote eight times from your home phone, eight times from your cellphone, eight times on the web site and you can also text eight times.

We’d expect DeLay to have a stellar get-out-the-vote effort that should help him continue on the show. We’ll keep watching so you don’t have to.

Former Majority Leader Tom DeLay begins his new career as a reality show star tonight on "Dancing with the Stars." CREW helped DeLay launch this new career by forcing him out of his former role and we're having a watch party tonight at "Top of the Hill" bar on Capitol Hill. Here's some background:

Are you ready for some Tom DeLay dancing?! CREW is.

At first blush, the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington doesn’t come across as made up of a bunch of party animals. Just last week, the group released its list of the top 15 most corrupt members in Congress.

But because of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s participation in “Dancing With the Stars,” which debuts Monday night, CREW has decided to do something it has never done before: throw a party.

“We decided the very day the news broke — we just couldn’t believe it — and we thought not only did we want to watch it, but everyone we know wanted to watch it. You don’t get an opportunity like that every day,” CREW executive director Melanie Sloan told Shenanigans. “It’s a whole new level for Mr. DeLay.”

CREW was one of the nonpartisan nonprofits that held DeLay’s feet to the fire back in the Jack Abramoff scandal days. As Sloan admitted: “He was CREW’s raison d’être.”

“I always say if I never do anything else in my entire life, I helped tell the world about Tom DeLay and helped remove him from Congress and improved Washington,” she boasted. “It’ll be a guilty pleasure to watch him. He’s certainly taken quite a tumble to go from majority leader to reality show contestant. It’s not an aspirational position for most people.”

Just a preview of what to expect next week:

Oh, how the mighty Hammer has fallen.

At CREW, we've closely followed the career of former Majority Leader Tom DeLay. He helped create the "culture of corruption" on Capitol Hill. And, we did our part to end his political career. So, as Kiki Ryan notes in The Washington Examiner, it has been fun to see DeLay go from being "The Hammer" on the Hill to a reality show contestant:

Many cite the actions of the the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) as the reason for Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s indictment, but will the group put the past behind them and throw their support behind the former pol’s appearance on “Dancing with the Stars” just for entertainment’s sake?

We’ll find out the night of the Sept. 21 premiere as the watchdog group hosts a viewing party at Top of the Hill for the ABC ballroom-dancing show.

But after speaking with the nonpartisan’s group Executive Director Melanie Sloan, we’re betting that those at the party won’t be dialing in their support. She admits, though, “it would be disappointing if he lost too quickly.”

“We can’t deny it: the enjoyment we are deriving from DeLay’s spectacular fall from top political leader to reality show contestant contains more than an element of schadenfreude,” Sloan told Yeas & Nays before asking, “What could be more delicious?”

So even though watching “The Hammer” attempt his best M.C. Hammer will be funny, Sloan’s statement that “It’s hard to root for Tom DeLay to win anything. ... Even a dance contest,” sounds to us like he’ll be getting the same hard treatment from the group he’s used to.

The Abramoff scandal is back in the news. It's not even close to being over. A former staffer to the former Majority Leader Dick Armey was indicted on five corruption charges:

Horace Cooper, a legal commentator, active conservative writer and blogger who served as a top aide to former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), was indicted Friday on public corruption charges related to the wide-ranging case involving Jack Abramoff.

The Justice Department charged Cooper, 44, with on count of conspiracy, one count of fraudulent concealment, two counts of false statements and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding.

The allegations stem from Cooper’s last three years with Armey, as well as his stints as chief of staff for Voice of America (VOA) from 2001 to 2002 and the Employment Standards Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor from 2002 to 2005.

With the news that Tom DeLay will appear on "Dancing with the Stars" creating such a buzz, there are many of us who think of him not for his dancing partners, but his partners-in-crime:

Government reform groups seized the opportunity to issue pun-laden statements. "It would be interesting to see if Mr. DeLay can do the Perp Walk. Does he know that step," said Andrew Wheat, the research director of Texans for Public Justice, the watchdog group whose work helped spark the criminal prosecution of DeLay.

"Once upon a time, Tom DeLay was the powerful Majority Leader, jetting off to St. Andrews [golf course in Scotland] on a private plane with uber lobbyist Jack Abramoff," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "A few years later, from the comfort of his prison cell, Abramoff can watch DeLay as a TV reality show contestant. Who says there's no justice?"