Cory Mills has been an embarrassment ever since he first set foot in Congress three years ago.

Mills kicked off his tenure by joking about tear-gassing journalists and laughing about the bloody beating of Nancy Pelosi’s elderly husband. Mills thought it was a hoot-and-a-half to see the 83-year-old’s skull fractured with a hammer.

And that was just the beginning. After that, Mills started generating headlines that were so cringe-inducing, even conservative media outlets seemed puzzled why he was in office. Headlines like: “Rep. Cory Mills hit with revenge-porn accusation after breakup with beauty queen.”And “Cory Mills slapped with restraining order after Florida judge sides with accuser.” And “Stolen valor? Veterans dispute Cory Mills’ record: ‘He fooled a lot of us.’”

All of that should’ve been embarrassing. Yet little of it seemed to bother Republicans — at least not enough for party leaders to condemn the actions or search for a more reputable Republican to represent the congressional district that covers Seminole and Volusia counties.

Even after a judge placed a restraining order on Mills — a sitting member of Congress — Mr. alleged Family Values himself, House Speaker Mike Johnson, shrugged off the news, saying: “I’ve been a little busy.”

So why has the Grand Old Party been so quick to ignore Mills’ embarrassing antics? Because Republicans knew he could keep the seat in GOP hands. And that was all that mattered. Not ethical behavior. Not sober statesmanship. Just winning.

Now let’s flip the script and go from an embarrassing Republican congressional rep in Central Florida to an indicted Democratic one in South Florida.

Last month, the feds accused Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of misappropriating $5 million worth of federal disaster funds, laundering some of it to her congressional campaign.

Once upon a time, such a thing would be considered … well … problematic.

Yet after Cherfilus-McCormick surrendered to authorities on a 15-count indictment, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries’ office sent out a statement that said: “Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has proudly represented the people of Palm Beach and Broward counties since 2022.”

I think Mr. Jeffries and I have very different ideas about what kind of behavior makes us proud. Because here are a couple of headlines Cherfilus-McCormick generated six months ago — long before the recent indictment: “Report finds potential ethics violations by Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick” and “Ethics report: Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick may have violated House rules, federal law in funding request.”

The point of all this is to say that we get the government we deserve.

Party leaders rarely demand accountability from their own members. All they care about is winning. So it’s up to voters. Yet more and more often, we’re seeing both politicians and voters shrug off corruption.

Want more proof? Think about the guy who’s probably the biggest embarrassment Congress has produced recently — George Santos. Do you remember what our president did for him?

“I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY,” President Trump announced in October. “Good luck George, have a great life!”

If you support that sentiment — or are even just willing to give it a pass — you’re part of the problem.

So is gerrymandering. When districts are are designed to elect a Republican or Democrat, you often don’t get the best candidate. You get the biggest extremist.

Years ago, the congressional district that covers Seminole and Volusia was pretty purple. As a result, the community had pretty moderate representation — Republican John Mica and then Democrat Stephanie Murphy, both of whom were willing to work across the aisle to get things done for this community.

But then the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis redesigned the district to ensure it would elect a Republican, and sensible, moderate candidates didn’t stand a chance. The biggest MAGA extremist won. Which gave us Cory Mills.

Some Republicans are finally talking about recruiting someone else to run against Mills next year — but not because the party suddenly developed a conscience. Because they’ve finally realized Mills, who has more baggage than an MCO carousel, may lose.

Down in South Florida, Democrats are trying to decide what to do about their scandal-enveloped rep. Both Cherfilus-McCormick and Jeffries are correct that she hasn’t been convicted of anything. And I don’t doubt some of the congresswoman’s claims that the U.S. Department of Justice’s office in South Florida has turned into an office of political prosecution. Trump’s own allies and advisors have basically said as much.

Maxwell: Florida grand juries, at root of Epstein rot, may next target Trump foes

But I also perused the 42-page indictment against Cherfilus-McCormick. And there were a few lines that stopped me dead in my tracks. One was a text message that the congresswoman’s chief of staff sent to one of her alleged donors that said: “I just sent you $500. Please donate to the campaign.” It’s hard to see any way that was above-board.

The bottom line is that, if voters want ethical and sensible people in office, they have to demand it. Voters have to stop gravitating to the candidates who scream the loudest and make the most outrageous accusations and be willing to kick the crumbums out of office — even if they’re on the same political team.

Because the political parties aren’t interested in accountability. They only want to win. And they’re counting on you to want same thing … ethics and morality be damned.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/12/17/cory-mills-sheila-cherflius-mccormick/