So tell us, Rep. Bob "I'm Here and Whatcha Gonna Do About It?" Ney: Just what the heck does it take to get a slug like you the heck out of Congress?

From today's Washington Post, page A20:

Correction

A Sept. 16 editorial incorrectly referred to Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) as a former member of Congress.

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As Washington Post editorials go, this one is hard to fault: simple, to the point, factually accurate, obviously necessary. (I mean, you can't go around calling people "former" members of Congress when they're still on the job.)

And yet, while I'm not usually a big fan of Washington Post editorials (which too often reflect an editorial policy that might be summed up: See? We're not all that liberal), I'm going to have to stick up for 'em here. When a congressman has fessed up to as much criminal behavior as Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) has, isn't his immediate resignation automatic?

Is it possible that the feds who negotiated his plea agreement didn't insist on his resignation? Or did they maybe just assume this was too obvious to require spelling out? After all, when you admit to using your office for corrupt purposes, not to mention repeatedly lying about it, you can't possibly expect to remain in office, can you?

Personally, I'm happy to see Ney still polluting the Congress that he and his fellow Republicrooks have worked so hard to turn into a cesspool of corruption. First, the more prominently the Republican "Culture of Corruption" is displayed, the greater the chance that the country will eventually come to give a rat's ass. And second, it establishes that the Republicans have now broken through another barrier in their attitude toward the law.

Until now we've been able to joke that to people like this, the only real crime is getting caught. Now it appears that even getting caught doesn't count. No, the new standard is: Don't count unless them pussies find 'em a crowbar strong enough to pry me the hell out.