These conservative Republicans were supposed to be different.

They rode to power in Congress in 1994 on a platform of reform. Now they have turned reform upside down and succumbed to the temptations of political success.

Some Republicans do want to stem the tide of corruption. What’s hard to tell is whether members of Congress such as Indiana’s Mike Pence and Mark Souder can muster majority influence in their party and overwhelm the defenders of bigger government and corruption-prone gambling connections. They may be outnumbered.

They also seem to be fighting against the natural tendency that comes with success. God warned Israel about the problem of spiritual complacency in preparing them for the Promised Land: “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery”(Deut. 6:12).

In 1994, Republicans promised to end the corrupt practices of Democrats who had the House majority for 40 years—the scandals for personal gain, the abuse of postal privileges, and the failure to apply civil rights legislation to themselves.

The idea was to develop a more disciplined approach and put the government on a healthy diet, reducing its size and scope. Then neither party would be able to give so many government favors in return for campaign contributions or bribes.

That impulse for reform was mixed with the desire of Christian and pro-life conservatives to see government be more friendly to the family and to slow down abortion.

Now the Republicans look like the old Democrats. They have been handing out government favors in return for golf trips and campaign contributions. They are entangled with gambling interests, thanks to lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Maybe it is just a few Republicans. But they had 40 years to learn from Democrats. Regulated businesses live and die by favorable rulings in Washington. Less government means, most of the time, less corruption. Free markets, most of the time, mean businesses are rewarded for providing good products, not for political connections.

Republicans have added a new twist. Ralph Reed, running for Georgia lieutenant governor, has been one of the leaders of the Religious Right. He also has lobbied the conservative wing of the party to oppose gambling. Now it turns out he was in the middle of a self-enrichment scheme to oppose one kind of Indian gambling to benefit the gambling interests of another tribe.

It’s hard to tell which way Republicans will go. Rep. Pence has called for serious cuts in government spending. Some gambling opponents in Congress think the Abramoff-Reed scandal has reopened the door to proposed restrictions on Internet gambling. The restrictive legislation was shot down in 2000 by lobbying opposition from Ralph Reed, through his connections with Abramoff. Republicans such as Pence and Souder now want to see gambling restrictions as part of a lobby reform package.

Watch whether Congress can muster enough votes to restrict Internet gambling. Has a fundamental rottenness crept into the Republican Party, with a threat to unravel the original vision of less government? Are we seeing a party succumb to the warning of God in Hosea 13:6, the warning about how success will tend to spoil any and all of us, unless we exercise rigorous discipline? “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.”

One sorry defense so far is that Democrats would be worse. When you hear that lame excuse, ponder with sadness how far in the mud the mighty have fallen.