(2005-11-29) — Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, today offered some rare advice to Republicans about how to deal with what she calls the GOP’s “culture of corruption,” just a day after Rep. Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham, R-CA, resigned after pleading guilty to federal corruption charges.

“The problem with Duke Cunningham, Tom DeLay and Scooter Libby is not that they allegedly broke the law,” said Rep. Pelosi, “because the law is a fluid concept that is valid, or not, at any given moment depending on the latest judicial ruling. So, the Republican problem is bad timing. They did these unethical things at a time when they are still illegal, instead of working to get a favorable court ruling first.”

The House minority leader cited abortion, homosexual marriage and the recent Supreme Court eminent domain decision as examples of unethical and formerly illegal behavior that are now available to many law abiding citizens.

She contrasted the Republican “culture of corruption” with her own party’s “culture of constitutional correction.”

“If you want to leak the names of CIA agents, or accept bribes in exchange for legislative favors,” Rep. Pelosi said, “you have to get some judge to make it constitutional first. Forty years ago a woman couldn’t legally abort her husband’s baby so she could marry her girlfriend and live in condo built on a site that city council confiscated from a poor retired couple. But now, it’s totally legal for many Americans.”