Democrat Representative John Conyers Jr. has resigned for multiple allegations of sexual harassment, coupled with using taxpayer funds to pay settlements to keep things quiet. He has endorsed his son, John Conyers III, to replace him (fortunately for the people of his district, the transition should be a smooth one since his son was arrested earlier this year for domestic abuse, including stabbing his girlfriend). Democrat Senator Al Franken has announced that he’ll soon resign for having assaulted some women a whole back. And now Republican Representative Trent Franks has resigned because… well, it’s a little unclear: “after two former staff members complained about discussions he had with them about efforts to find a surrogate mother.” The topic in and of itself doesn’t seem like it should be troubling, but maybe he suggested to his staffers that *they* be the surrogates. That’s all I can think of. If his given reason is accurate, it seems like he’s quitting because he *said* something inappropriate, while Franken and Conyers *did* something inappropriate. So at least at this very basic level there’s a disparity between the Reps and Dems. Of course, there’s also Roy Moore; while not in the Senate, he *may* soon be, and there is a lot of thinking that if he wins the election, the Senate may refuse to let him in, or may immediately begin proceedings to eject him.
I fully endorse the resignation of any and every member of the House and Senate. Especially anyone who has been there more than one term. Serving in Congress shouldn’t be a friggen’ career, but rather something that people do for a little while then go *back* to the private sector.