The Feld-Blog

The Republican battlements have finally been breached. While in power, the Republican party has understandably done all it could to protect the jobs and reputations of its members in the House and Senate. Even when Randy “Duke” Cunningham threw punches at another Member of Congress on the Floor of the House of Representatives, the shield provided to him by the Republican majority in both houses deflected much of the potential blowback. Finally, however, his corruption has caught up to him. Today Duke delivered a tearful confession and resignation.

At the end of the summer he affirmed his innocence, but declared he would not run for reelection for fear of besmirching the campaign or his party through the ‘wrongful’ allegations. Any way you slice this, it was a smart political move. He probably couldn’t win with such heavy accusations, but declaring his intent not to run for reelection allows Republican candidates for his seat the time they need to collect the necessary bank roll to stage a successful campaign. If he can't win, at least he can guarantee a Republican victory rather than allowing a Democrat to rise above the chaos and be elected while the GOP squabbles between one clean candidate and one incumbent.

Now that he has confesed to bribery, tax fraud, ethics rules violations, conspiracy and other crimes, Duke faces substantial jail time and heavy fines. It will certainly be a trying time personally as well as for his family. I hesitate, therefore, to discuss the political consequences of his shameful resignation, but I believe they at least deserve a quick nod.

From the time of resignation, the governor has 120 days by which time a special election must be held. This accelerated campaign schedule and short time frame favors the Democrats. Francine Busby, the Democratic candidate has been fundraising and strategizing since Cunningham won last November. Republicans have only had since Duke’s declaration in August. By hastily evacuating his seat, he has left it vulnerable to a partisan swing even in a staunchly conservative district, but we’ll see how this plays out.