As for public opinion, a USA Today/CNN poll says that

"49 percent of respondents said most members of Congress are corrupt."

Most? Wow. It's not true, in my humble opinion, unless you count the legalized bribery of the campaign finance system, but speaks volume about public opinion.

But the GOP doesn't win the corruption sweepstakes:

"Asked how many congressional Republicans are corrupt, 19 percent of respondents said 'almost all' and 28 percent said 'many.' The response was similar when people were asked about corruption among Democrats: 17 percent said 'almost all' and 27 percent said 'many

Ed Lasky  1 04 06