Cal Thomas: Lessons from Graham Planter

Cal Thomas, Tribune Content Agency on Jun 9, 2026

How can Graham Planter, who might win the Democratic nomination for senator from Maine in next Tuesday’s primary election ever be seriously considered for such a job, given the amount of personal baggage he carries?

The answer is we have so lowered our standards and think so little of our politicians that, as the saying used to go, anyone can grow up to be president, or senator.

Planter has been accused of so many things that just one would have been enough to derail his candidacy in another era when character mattered. Today, power is all that appears to matter and the way in which one achieves power seems less important than the objective.

Corrupt politicians are nothing new because everyone has a flawed human nature. Some control it, others don’t. Just a few examples of those who didn’t exert self-control.

Randall “Duke” Cunningham (R-CA) is among those who didn’t. Cunningham was widely considered one of the most corrupt congressmen in American history. Given the levels of indictable and non-indictable corruption within the profession, that’s saying something. Cunningham was sentenced to eight years and four months in federal prison in 2005 after pleading guilty to taking at least $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. The bribes included a yacht, a luxury mansion, private jet travel and expensive antiques.

The list is too long to name them all, but here are a few others. Corruption may be the last bipartisan activity in Washington.

William J. Jefferson (D-LA) was convicted in 2009 on 11 federal corruption counts, including bribery and racketeering. FBI agents raided his home and discovered $90,000 in cash wrapped in aluminum foil which he had hidden in his kitchen freezer.

James (“beam me up, Scotty”) Traficant (D-OH) was expelled from the House (a rarity) in 2002 following his conviction on 10 felony counts, including taking bribes, racketeering, tax evasion, and forcing his congressional staff to perform manual labor on his private farm.

On the Senate side Bob Menendez (D-NJ), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was convicted on all counts of a massive federal bribery scheme. Federal agents discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a luxury vehicle and more than $100,000 worth of solid gold bars hidden in his home. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison in January 2025.

In the late 1980s, five sitting U.S. senators – Alan Cranston (D-CA), Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), Donald Riegle (D-MI), John Glenn (D-OH) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) – intervened with federal bank regulators on behalf of Charles Keating, a corrupt savings and loan executive. Keating had gifted the senators more than $1.3 million in campaign contributions. The subsequent collapse of his bank left thousands of investors penniless and cost taxpayers billions.

To demonstrate corruption is not a modern phenomenon, William A. Clark (D-MT), a 19th-century copper tycoon, literally bought his way into the U.S. Senate in 1899 by directly bribing Montana state legislators with envelopes of cash. The Senate refused to seat him, prompting Clark to declare, "I never bought a man who wasn't for sale." A profound line and one every member of Congress should put over his or her office door.

John Hipple Mitchell (R-OR) was a sitting U.S. senator when he was indicted and convicted in 1905 for his involvement in the Oregon Land Fraud Scandal. He used his legislative influence to help a syndicate illegally seize thousands of acres of public federal land for private speculation.

Bipartisan committees have been established in the House and Senate to control such behavior, but members intent on gaming the system for their personal and professional benefit will not be deterred by ethics committees. If you don’t subscribe to a high code of ethics before coming to Congress, you are not likely to develop one when you get there.

An Article 5 Convention of States with term limits and a balanced budget would help rein in corruption. If Maine voters elect Graham Platner, it may be coming sooner than anyone expects.

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Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I've Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America" (HumanixBooks).