October Surprise - Indictments for Democrats

Expect the GOP October surprises to include indictments of Democratic candidates for the House, between Halloween and election day.  

It doesn't matter if the indictments are worthless, if they are thrown out six weeks or six months later, or if the indicteds even go to trial and the charges are found worthless.  The indictments will have done their job of grabbing the headlines, distracting the public from GOP corruption, and tipped some elections.   Remember, Rove promises Every Trick In The Book.  This old trick goes back to my childhood.

Candidates for indictment:  whom might they be? William Jefferson, D-Louisiana. Alan Mollohan, D-West Virginia, now under investigation.  And John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania.  

Says whom?  Well, besides me, Capitol Hill Blue reports on Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)'s recently released second annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress entitled Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and five to watch).  17 Republicans, 3 Democrats and 5 to watch.  

CREW's Most Corrupt Members of Congress:

Senate:

    * Conrad Burns (R-Mont.)
    * Bill Frist (R-Tenn.)
    * Rick Santorum (R-Pa.)

House:

    * Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)
    * Ken Calvert (R-Calif.)
    * John Doolittle (R-Calif.)
    * Tom Feeney (R-Fla.)
    * Katherine Harris (R-Fla.)
    * William Jefferson (D-La.)
    * Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.)
    * Gary Miller (R-Calif.)
    * Alan Mollohan (D-W.V.)
    * Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.)
    * Richard Pombo (R-Calif.)
    * Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.)
    * Pete Sessions (R-Texas)
    * John Sweeney (R-N.Y.)
    * Charles Taylor (R-N.C.)
    * Maxine Waters (D-Calif.)
    * Curt Weldon (R-Pa.)

Five Members to Watch:

    * Chris Cannon (R-Utah)
    * J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.)
    * Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.)
    * John Murtha (D-Pa.)
    * Don Sherwood (R-Pa.)

I would also look for Democratic candidates for the House or for governorships, candidates who face corruption charges that might conceivably lead to indictments.  In Wisconsin, the GOP has been trying to paint Democratic Governor Jim Doyle as corrupt.  

Will the Democratic Party find any aggression in its leadership or membership, the tits it takes to use this information for our collective advantage and avoid getting beaten up in October?

Bets.