It's up to voters

to change system

Recent troubling revelations from our nation's capital shed more light on the glaring deficiencies in our system of checks and balances, especially as they pertain to congressional ethics.

Powerful lobbyist Jack Abramoff, under investigation in recent months for alleged improprieties in how he conducted business, agreed to a deal with investigators for a lighter sentence in exchange for his cooperation and testimony in a case involving massive fraud and congressional corruption.

In the days that have passed since the turn of events early last week, the scandal's reach has grown. By some estimations, 60 or more elected officials in both chambers of Congress could prove to be tainted by the corruption.

Official reaction, predictably, has been political. Each party is doing its best to spin the corruption to its own advantage. But regardless of how many of each party's players are shown to be involved, the numbers add up to a disturbing bottom line for Americans.

Perhaps most frightening of all, though, is the stranglehold that lobbyists and the powerful interests they represent have on the process. One critic last week noted there are now 63 lobbyists for every Washington lawmaker.

The particulars of political scandals over the years may differ, but the big-ticket theme remains the same: Money corrupts, and big money corrupts in a big way.

Partisan hand-wringing always follows such scandals, and talk inevitably turns to &#8220reform.” But if lawmakers, at every level, have proven one thing time after time, it's that they are remarkably untrustworthy when it comes to self-governance.

It falls to voters then to take charge. We must insist on meaningful ethics laws, strict regulation of campaign financing and a return to government that works for all the people, not just the ones with money.