Senate Republicans have not been doing well for a while now. But the GOP's disarray is now extending to the House! The series of Republicans congressmen (Pryce, Hastert, LaHood, Peckering, ...) declaring their intention to retire in August started the wave of bad news, but this past week shows the GOP's House problems go much deeper than these open seats.

Read full analysis here,  on Campaign Diaries.

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Congressional politics is defying all electoral norms these days. Usually, parties fear retirements more than anything and do as much as they can to get their representatives and senators to run again. Last week, however, Republicans breathed a small sigh of relief when Rep. Renzi announced he would not seek re-election in AZ-1. Stuck in ethical investigations, Renzi was playing right in the hands of the Democratic argument that Republicans are ethically challenged, and he could have doomed GOP chances in his district. Republicans learned the lesson of 2006, when they lost many of their House seats in heavy Republican territory because the incumbent was embroiled in scandals. (The worst were girlfriend-beating and mistress-strangling allegations made against Sweeney in NY-20 and Sherwood in PA-10). An open seat, Republicans reason, might actually be easier to defend.

The same thing is happening now: the resilience of Senator Craig, Senator Stevens of Alaska and Rep. Doolittle (CA-4) in the face of scandal are making their seats pick-up opportunies for Democrats. If any of these Republicans were to retire, Democratic chances would diminish.

Read full analysis - as well as an analysis of the South Dakota Senate race, where Republicans are also looking for a resignation to have any hope of having the seat - here, at Campaign Diaries.

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While Congress has been busy dealing with issues such as the Iraq War, the U.S. attorney firings controversy, and the federal minimum wage this year, some members have had their attention diverted by legal problems. By our count, eleven members of Congress (and ten former members who departed with the 109th Congress) are currently the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation. Over the past few weeks, new details have emerged in several of these cases. Here's a quick rundown of the latest info (with the appropriate background):

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Mystery shoppers audit their customer service experiences to help companies improve. I'm looking for a few volunteers out there to "mystery shop" your elected officials!

It's easy. And someone out there has stepped up to the challenge! Here are the results for...    Joh Doolittle

The House Ethics committee outlines 10 general points of conduct  that every elected official or representative should adhere to. Now, using these 10 points as a gauge you too can evaluate the performance of your elected official!

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Doolittle's SUV lease is one of the highest: Vehicle costs taxpayers $1,073 a month

http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article /20060315/NEWS/103150042

That's all I've got today...

Open Thread :)

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