Washington Insight

CONCERN OVER SLEAZE: Members of Congress back from their home districts during last week’s Lincoln’s birthday recess say voters are increasingly angered by perceptions of a growing sleaze factor in politics. Fuel for the anti-incumbent fire has come not only from the “Keating Five” and S&L; scandals but also from more recent exposes of check-kiting at the House bank and a possible drug ring in the Capitol post office. . . . Pollsters now say that voters, for the first time, are becoming disaffected over their own home-district Congress members--not just about politicians generally. Forget the budget deficit and health care. “The character issue is the biggest single concern on voters’ minds this year,” says one GOP lawmaker who has encountered the sentiment at home and in talks with House colleagues. He adds: “Everybody’s seeing disenchantment everywhere--and it’s disenchantment that goes beyond the (polling) numbers. . . . One possible outcome: Defeat of some sleaze-tinged candidates in spring primaries. Adds a Democratic strategist: “We’ve been talking for years about the dangers of the anti-incumbent mood. This could be the year it hits.”