Watch Your Step!

I once visited a wonderful place called Plitvice Lakes National Park in the beautiful country of Croatia. It was barely more than one year after the country had established independence from the former Yugoslavia during a fierce war with Serbia. During part of the war, the park had been under occupation by Serbian troops, and although it was back under Croatian control by the time of my visit, there were still large signs along the main trails throughout the park warning visitors not to stray from the path because of the possibility of undiscovered land mines.

With recent reports in Time Magazine that Duke Cunningham wore a wire during conversations with undisclosed individuals to gain potential evidence related to corruption, and with Jack Abramoff claiming to have the goods on over 60 members of congress, being a Republican in Washington these days must feel very much like I felt while walking through Plitvice Lakes National Park. Stick to the path and you are probably OK, but stray just a little bit, and your political career could be blown to smithereens with each step!

And unlike my visit to Plitvice, where I stuck to the path like glue, most of the current crop of congressional Republicans seem to be choosing to take their chances off the path. They are unloading Abramoff-tainted campaign funds, claiming to be shocked at the web of scandal surrounding its origin. They are claiming that Cunningham was a lone wolf whose actions don’t reflect on them at all. Yet every step they take could be their last, as all the evidence still sits out there, like land mines hidden in front of them.

Sooner or later, some of these guys are going to have to start seeing the danger that could be lurking before them, and decide to get back on the path for good. Some of them are going to decide that the slight chance of getting hit with a little shrapnel from a distance is preferable to having their limbs blown off by a recorded conversation with the Dukester, or some pointed testimony from Abramoff. They are going to get back on the path – a path which leads directly to the prosecutor - to cut their own plea deals to save themselves, while becoming additional potential land mines for those who still insist on wandering off the path.