"Cold cash" Jefferson reelected in Louisiana

ABC News:

U.S. Rep. William Jefferson easily defeated his fellow Democratic opponent in Saturday's runoff, despite an ongoing federal bribery investigation.

With 44 percent of the precincts reporting, Jefferson, Louisiana's first black congressman since Reconstruction, led with 61 percent of the vote over state Rep. Karen Carter, who had 39 percent.

Carter was unable to capitalize on a scandal that included allegations the FBI found $90,000 in bribe money in Jefferson's freezer.

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Jefferson, 59, was accused of taking bribes from a company seeking lucrative contracts in the Nigerian telecommunications market. He has not been charged with any crime and denies any wrongdoing.

The scandal turned the race into a debate largely divided along racial lines, an age-old dynamic in this city that has intensified since Hurricane Katrina displaced large numbers of blacks and upended their demographic and political dominance.

Whites, who overwhelmingly voted for Carter in the primary and have been her most enthusiastic financial backers, believed a Jefferson win would confirm this city's image as corrupt and untrustworthy as it asks the nation to fund its recovery from Katrina.

City Councilman Oliver Thomas said Jefferson's victory would make the recovery more difficult.

"People are watching this election all around the country and I can only imagine what they are thinking," Thomas said. "It will be very difficult to go back to them and ask them to trust us with the money we need here."

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Why should anyone trust people who reelect "cold cash" Jefferson? Jefferson himself is not someone worthy of the public trust and the people who have reelected him have embraced his unworthiness. They should have to thaw out their sense of corruption.

On the other hand, Jefferson is a gift to the Republicans on the culture of corruption issue. Perhaps the Republicans should thank his voters for embracing that culture and showing how the Democrats really feel about the issue. He is not the only Democrat accused of corruption embraced by voters. It will be interesting to see whether his fellow members of the Black Caucus and Democrat leadership similarly embrace his sleaze. That will tell you much about their integrity.