Jon Ralston, Nevada's political guru, has another brutal column today on Senator John Ensign. Ralston's hearing that the DOJ has built a strong case against Ensign, who seems oblivious to the scandal and potential indictment. In fact, GOPers running for Senate in Nevada want his support. Fine. Looks like Ensign is going to be a campaign issue in 2010 -- in Nevada and other Senate races:
The department is being very deliberate in assembling a case against Ensign. But Justice has a mountain of documents and e-mails that, combined with the senator’s own admissions or statements in e-mails, would seem to amount to a formidable case. And last week’s New York Times story, showing how Ensign’s contacts with a local company (similar to several other interactions), show how far the senator was willing to go to get Hampton work, mostly while he was employed by ex-Ensign aides who had formed a lobbying/consulting firm. The structure, so to speak, is becoming more transparent all the time.Interesting choice of words since this whole scandal started because Ensign was having an affair with the wife of his best friend, Doug Hampton, when both Hampton and his wife were working for John Ensign. It just deteriorated from there. But, again, John Ensign is still a U.S. Senator.
This drip-drip-drip of revelation seems to have left Ensign unfazed, like a man who is slowly drowning but believes he can rise above it — or, perhaps, deludes himself into thinking he can walk on water. But as Republicans here and in Washington play the pathetic see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil game vis-a-vis Ensign, it is becoming more obvious that their craven behavior could be self-defeating.
If Ensign gets indicted, he will become a national and state nightmare for the GOP. National Democrats will brandish him as a symbol of corruption (they may anyhow) and local Democrats will wrap the junior senator around the GOP Senate nominee’s neck, especially because Sue Lowden and Danny Tarkanian foolishly have said they would welcome his support. I wouldn’t even be surprised to see Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid directly go after his pal to boost his sagging fortunes. I can hear it now: “Sorry, John. But now you know how Doug Hampton feels — how it feels to be screwed over by your best friend.”
