Poll: Pelosi’s “Ethical Swamp” is Flooding (with CBC Members)

Over half of likely voters in competitive districts think the house speaker has failed to clean up Washington.

By Jamilah King Oct 07, 2010

No surprises here, but there’s more bad news for Democrats headed into November. Fifty-two percent of likely voters in 12 competitive districts think that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has failed to rid Washington of corruption. That’s compared to only seven percent of respondents who think things have actually gotten better, according to a recently released poll.

After Democrats won the majority in Congress four years ago, the majority leader made an infamous vow to "drain the ethical swamp" on Capitol Hill. Four years later, several Congressional Black Caucus members have been rocked by high profile ethics scandals. The lawmakers in question have pointed fingers at the GOP, citing a targeted, racially-tinged conspiracy. Meanwhile, Pelosi has tried to frame the cases as proof of stronger accountability under her watch. So far, it looks like she’s losing the battle over messaging.