Political reporter Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post has initiated a new “award,“ which, in his words, “honors, so to speak, that person, place or thing that had the most terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week.”
The judge considered the Redskins’ Albert Haynesworth, and the bureaucrats on whose watch the Gulf oil spill occurred. According to Cilliza:
But in the end, they were all in a race for second place. Rep. Alan Mollohan, a West Virginia Democrat who was defeated in Tuesday’s primary, was our runaway selection.
Mollohan had held his state’s 1st District since 1982 — you read that right — and his father had represented it for the 14 years prior to that, all the way back to 1968. Ah, dynasties. But a lingering shadow of ethics issues had weakened Mollohan’s standing, and the bitter anti-incumbent sentiment throughout the country didn’t help.
It may have been a rough week for Mollohan, but he did beat the rap in February when Attorney General Eric Holder announced that he was ending a four-year long criminal investigation. Also, Mollohan leaves Congress a wealthy man. Who says public service doesn’t pay?
The week’s real loser may be Nancy Pelosi if Mollohan’s loss portends events to come. For her part, she was in a state of denial. Jake Sherman of Politico reported on Thursday that Pelosi attributed Mollohan’s loss to “party politics in the district.” According to Sherman:
“I think all assumptions are false when it comes to politics, I really do,” Pelosi said in her weekly meeting with reporters in the Capitol. “They’re all stale and every race has to be judged as to what it brings to it. You have to take into consideration an overarching mood, certainly. But we win our races one district at a time.”
House Democrats, she said, shouldn’t be “dragged down by assumptions that may or may not apply to them,” she said.
I don’t know whom Cillizza will pick for the week of October 31, which includes election day, but I have a good idea.
Related:
Congressman Mollohan Loses Democratic Primary
Mollohan Will Not Be Charged With Crime; Culture of Corruption Wins
Mollohan Scandal Property Goes to Foreclosure
Corruption Probe Hangs Over Mollohan
Pelosi AWOL as Mollohan Still Controls Budget of Those Investigating Him
Rep. Mollohan’s Foundation Got Free Rent From Earmark Recipient