This week in corrupt Democratic elected officials

Earlier this week Congressman "Dollar Bill" William Jefferson (D-LA), he of the $90,000 dollars in his freezer, was defeated for re-election by a newcomer, Anh "Joseph" Cao, himself once a refugee from Saigon.

Indicted U.S. Rep. William Jefferson suffered what may be the final blow of his storied political career in the most improbable way Saturday, when an untested Republican opponent took advantage of Louisiana's new federal voting rules -- and an election delay caused by Hurricane Gustav - to unseat the nine-term Democrat.

With the upset victory, Anh "Joseph" Cao, a eastern New Orleans attorney who fled war-ravaged Saigon as a child, becomes the first Vietnamese-American in Congress. He will represent a district that was specifically drawn to give African-Americans an electoral advantage and one in which two of every three voters are registered Democrats.

You see the word indicted before Congressman Jefferson's name, and that's because of his indictment on corruption charges.

Federal authorities accused Rep. William J. Jefferson yesterday of using his congressional office and staff to enrich himself and his family, charging the Louisiana Democrat with offering and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to support business ventures in the United States and several West African nations.

The 16-count indictment also accused Jefferson, a former co-chairman of congressional caucuses on Nigeria and African trade, of racketeering, money laundering and obstruction of justice. The indictment was handed up by a federal grand jury and capped a long and tumultuous FBI investigation.

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The lawmaker allegedly stowed $90,000 in his home freezer, wrapped in aluminum foil and concealed inside frozen-food containers.

But Congressman Jefferson isn't the only corrupt Democrat in the news. Earlier this morning, Illinois Governor Rod >Blagojevich found himself in federal custody on corruption charges.

A source said today that Gov. Rod Blagojevich was taken into federal custody at his North Side home this morning. The U.S. attorney's office would not confirm the information.

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The stunning, early morning visit by authorities to the governor's North Side home came amid revelations that federal investigators had recorded the governor with the cooperation of a longtime confidant and had begun to focus on the possibility that the process of choosing a Senate successor to President-elect Barack Obama could be tainted by pay-to-play politics.

While these two men are innocent until proven guilty of the charges against them, there's enough evidence that they were sufficiently stupid in how they carried out their duties, that even the mere perception of corruption is enough for me to say good riddance.