Last fall, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay decried what he called the "criminalization of conservative politics," claiming that Democrats and other progressives were trying to beat Republicans in the court of law rather than the court of public opinion. As Josh Marshall subsequently noted, "That sentence can be read more than one way" -- that through their illicit behaviors, conservatives are criminalizing politics.

At the time of DeLay's comment, there were a few high ranking Republicans in heat with the law, to be sure. Ohio Governor Bob Taft had been convicted of inappropriate ties with lobbyists, an SEC investigation into stock sales of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist had been opened, and DeLay himself had come under indictment for a number of charges, including money laundering.

But over the course of the last few months, DeLay's comment has proved to be prescient as more and more very important Republican lawmakers, staffers and lobbyists have been convicted, indicted or come under investigation. GOP Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham: convicted. Scooter Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Cheney: indicted. The Bush administration's top procurement official David Safavian: indicted. Senior Bush administration domestic policy aide Claude Allen: indicted. Top GOP lobbyists Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon: convicted.

And just in the last 24 hours we have learned that federal investigations have been opened to look at the activities of former Bush FDA chief Lester Crawford and Missouri Governor Matt Blunt, as well as the fact that the Feds have opted for a wideranging investigation of Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio.

Talking a lot about clean government isn't sexy, and in the past it hasn't won elections -- just ask Michael Dukakis. That said, in an era in which so many powerful Republicans are either going to trial or going to jail, a pledge to clean up Washington probably wouldn't hurt the Democrats.