Indicted Republican Reps. Duncan Hunter (left) and Chris Collins

It was a phrase as memorable as it was powerful, and Democrats used it with devastating effectiveness: the “culture of corruption.” That rotten culture had taken deep root throughout the Republican Party, and by hammering this simple notion on repeat, Democratic candidates helped turn the 2006 midterms into a rout, winning back Congress and finally putting a check on George W. Bush’s extremism and incompetence.

The very same thing is happening again today. Everywhere you turn, congressional Republicans are mired in scandal and ethical disaster:

And none of this even touches on the extraordinary corruption that starts at the very top, with Donald Trump and his venal cabinet, but it’s very easy to connect everything together as part of one giant, reeking miasma of sleaze. Republican leaders in Congress, eager for tax cuts and conservative judges, simply ignore Trump’s self-dealing, sending a message to their own caucus that the same behavior is acceptable on Capitol Hill, too.

In 2006, this grotesque feedback loop played out in the exact same way, as congressional Republicans gave Bush a free pass, then became enmeshed in a never-ending series of scandals themselves.