Whatever the case, I hope Menendez does everything in his power to quash these "innuendos" if indeed that's all these accusations amount to.  Moreover, I truly think Dems need to take a strong stance on ethics.  We can't afford to put people in major power positions that simply mimick a weaker strain of corruption than the Republicans had.  Telling people our semi-corrupt chairmen are better than their fully corrupt chairmen doesn't really do much to bolster our "clean house" schtick.  

Plus, the leaks say Menendez is not a target and is only a person of interest.

That's the same thing Tom DeLay was saying, too. That Ronnie Earle was just a partisan hack trying to make a name for himself. It may be true that the DA is a partisan, but that doesn't mean the guy is squeaky clean.

In my view, we need to go after corruption 100% regardless of party, because ultimately corruption in our ranks will cause us to lose the same way it helped seal the fate of the republicans.

The other side will always try to sling mud. This is who they are. This is what they do. This is what they're about. Most of it is bullshit, and has to be dealt with as such--you throw it right back, or throw it away, and don't let it stick to you.

Sometimes, though, it really is mud--e.g. Jefferson or Toricelli--in which case you must immediately deal with it as it should be dealt with, both because it's the right thing to do, and it's the smart thing to do.

It's only when you don't do one or the other that you get into trouble. Sounds like we've gotten pretty damn good at doing both. The GOP will have to come up with a new "Plan for Success" if it wants to compete with us in the future.

Like, um, competence, honesty and decency. What a novel concept for them!

Thousands of NJ voters, including  many Democrats have reservations about Menendez's past ethics record. Whether fair or not, whether true or not, the "perception of being shady" on Menendez is definitely out there.

However, most of us including myself voted for Menendez anyway & we have given him the "Benefit of the Doubt".

Let's face it. He is very lucky that there were Two major factors that pushed him to the top.
One, was he rode the "National Democratic Wave". And two, there was just so much " Anger Against Bush" in New Jersey.

But if this election happened in 2000, 2004 or possibly 2008, I honestly don't think Menendez would have been able to beat Kean.

I hope that this investigation clears Menendez of any wrongdoing. But if it turns out that he did commit anything illegal, we as a party cannot tolerate this.

NJ Democrats should show New Jersey that we do not tolerate such behavior in the Democratic party.

With a mere One seat balance of power in the Senate, we are very fortunate to have a Democratic Governor who can appoint a replacement if need be.

Two things:  (1) You have to take into account that NJ Democratic politics have been corrupt and tinged with corruption for a very, very long time.  Corzine was advised that Menendez was an iffy choice.  I don't know whether Menendez is dirty or not, but there's usually a whiff.  So, let's not be too Pollyannish about this.  New Orleans is another example.  Chicago - not so bad.  In any event, I certainly agree that Dems need to be nailed just as quickly and just as hard if they're dirty.  It's to Rangel and John Lewis's credit that they bumped Jefferson from his committee seat and that the LA Democratic party has endorsed his chief opponent.

(2) Did anyone notice that the Bush Justice Dept. and FBI have been the ones doing the arrests and making the prosecutions of Abramoff, Cunningham, Savafian, Ney, etc. (with more to come, it appears) and that the FBI Criminal Division director said he wants to do stings on Congress, and that even a Republican appointee, Patrick Fitzgerald went after Scooter?  Whatever we think of these mutants at the top, the professionals at Justice and the FBI have been doing their jobs.

And the major factor in the election was corruption according to the polls.  Neither our brothers and sisters in the DNC and Congressional leadership nor at the netroots for that matter actually brought these cases.  The pros did.    

It's NJ isn't it? Corruption is the State sport. That's not what bothered me about Sen.- elect Mend. Why did he  vote for that awful MCA bill in early Oct. The damn thing made Bu$h a Dictator and has to be immediately changed or dropped. if the D's can't do that what good are they? Bu$h and his gang in Congress have all but rescinded the Constitution these last 6 ys. the D's should spend the next  2 showing some respect for it.

"Corzine is a very popular governor after beating up on uber-reactionary South Jersey Democratic machine boss George Norcross."

NJ-Gov approval tracked

That's an interesting way to define "popular".

The problem with taking on a U.S. Senator who's just won re-election is that he's got 6 years before he has to stand for re-election. So, unless you're going to be able to actually prove some felony charge that will force him to resign, it doesn't do you much good.

If "ethics charges swirl around Menendez" is the best they can do, it won't matter. He'll wait it out and all that will be distant noise by 2012.

A Republican who brings it up will be greated with "what's that?" from the voters and the media will say "it's old-stuff."

If they think he's really commited a felony that's a different matter. But, you'd better be able to prove it and I haven't seen any real indication they will. This stuff generally falls into the category of sleezy stuff that politicians do and mostly get away with.

It certainly isn't pretty, but it's tough to see this bringing down Menendez unless something big comes out of it.

As a NJ resident, I take excepion to people's jaundiced view that corrupt politics is business as usual in NJ.

It is.

But it shouldn't be.

Bill Codey would have steamrolled over Kean while sleep-walking had he been nominated.  Yeah, he decided not to run.  Like no-one had a chat with him.  Don't try to deny that the party machine didn't want Codey, they wanted one of their own.

Right now Democrats can get away with their corrupt ways (which is ultimately giving my taxpayer dollars to their mobster paymasters) because the Republicans are looney tunes.  But if someone gets their act together and puts forward a moderately clean alternative, the Democrats are in real trouble.

And while the corrupt party machine gets fat and happy, the ticking time bomb of rising property taxes continues.  This could destroy the Democratic party in this state, if they don't get their noses out of the trough and do something about it (read: constitutional reform of the municipal structure of NJ).

All these comments about Menendez being corrupt have an element of sour grapes about them.  Menendez, at the earliest part of his career testified against a corrupt Democratic politician.  Wore a bullet-proof vest because of death threats and went onto a successful career.  Those he testified against and their supporters, went onto failing lives.  

Convicted Hudson County political felons were "feeding" the Kean campaign information on Menendez.  (BTW "daddy" Kean made his "deals" in his time, too, with Hudson County politicians.)  I just hope Christie, the U. S. Attorney, is not looking to the next election in this investigation.  If there is something there, indictments should be handed up, if not, Menendez should be cleared, publicly.  

Out of the whole crowd, only Menendez can demonstrate he did the right thing by testifying against corruption early in his career.  If he learned anything by that experience, we Democrats should have nothing but pride in his character.  That's why I have my suspicions about all these allegations and tarnishing Menendez by critizing where he is from instead of what he has done and overcome to win his seat, outright.

Doolittle was re-elected in Northern California. At some point voters have to be held accountable and shamed for voting for corrupt politicians. If voters themselves do not stop electing crooks, the task of cleaning up Congress is too daunting.

My motto: No lawbreakers as lawmakers!

We as citizens must be the first to stand up for the rule of law! If we elect lawbreakers and ethically challenged individuals they will laugh all the way to the bank with our hard earned tax dollars.