Ok, that having been clarified... :smile:
I believe that the GOP has become a "culture of corruption" for reasons obvious, and some not so obvious. Obviously, the recent indictments of officials in the administration and the Congress don't detract from the argument that it has slipped in that direction. But that's not what I plan to use to argue the entire case as it goes much deeper than that. It's not going to be about about what appears to me (and many others) to be illegal spying by the Republican administration on American citizens. Nor will it be that they threatened the "nuclear option" to end the minority's ability to fillibuster legislation or political confirmations, or even that they try to pass legislation without debate on a frequent basis.
The fact of the matter is that the entire system, as it stands, invites the corruption of whichever party is in control at the time. The constant flow of lobby money, political favors, and, to call a spade a spade, out and out bribery of elected officials and even the parties themselves via legal loopholes, all contribute to the problem.
The same exact thing happened with the Democrats, but during much of the 40 years they controlled the Congress, they had Republican presidents to contend with, and were therefore kept somewhat in check. During the last 5 years, the Republican controlled Congress has been largely unchecked. (Not a single bill to come out of the Congress has been vetoed by this president. On the same token, this president has had little opposition in getting much of his agenda passed through the Congress.)
No matter which party was in the situation that we're in currently, it's simply inevitable that it would become a "culture of corruption". Until the rules are changed, it will happen every time one party controls both the legislative and executive branches, in my opinion.