Someone smarter than me would have to fully make this case, but my general perception is that basic, crass, political corruption of the barely disguised "using your office for financial gain" form has become a lot more widespread and culturally accepted at the federal level. Not imagining some corruption-free golden age, but things like "Congressional insider trading" are largely accepted - Nancy Pelosi was running interference on efforts to crack down on it!
The revolving door is nothing new, but it seems to have gone from mildly distasteful to do it to mildly distasteful, or worse, to point out that people are doing it.
The wise man bowed his head and said, that's just the way things work, son.
Systems are corrupt when so many powerful people are corrupt that there isn't any way to swing the anti-corruption sword without taking off the heads of basically everybody. Any time you see an issue bubble up (like Congressional insider trading) and then be quickly pushed aside, it's because too many of your faves are guilty of it. Or too many of their faves are.
Not all corruption is actual crimeing, but when even the mild social sanctions against corruption (CANCEL CULTURE) fade, the floodgates are open.
