CONGRESS/DEMS/ELECTION/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Democrats accused congressional Republicans on Wednesday [8-22-18] of enabling a growing culture of corruption under U.S. President Donald Trump and planned to use the issue to bolster their push to retake control of Congress in November’s elections. The conviction and guilty plea on Tuesday [8-21-18] of two former members of Trump’s inner circle put a spotlight on the Democratic argument that Republicans have failed to check the excesses of corruption under Trump – but that voters could do it for them…Some Democrats pounced on the scandals as a way to organize and raise money for November when they are trying to pick up 23 seats in the House and two seats in the Senate to gain majorities in both chambers and blunt Trump’s legislative agenda. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez sent an email asking for donations, saying: ‘The more Democrats we elect this November, the better we will be able to hold this administration accountable.’ At the DNC summer meeting in Chicago on Wednesday, Perez told party members the election of Democrats would install ‘guard rails’ against Republican corruption. Bustos said Democrats were seeking to make corruption a ‘co-equal’ issue with driving down healthcare costs, increasing wages through infrastructure projects and providing new and stable leadership.”
–Susan Cornwell, John Whitesides, “Democrats seek to make Republican scandals an election issue,” Reuters, August 22, 2018 3:53 pm