Posted on 04/10/2005 11:07:44 AM PDT by AntiGuv
WASHINGTON - The No. 3 Republican in the Senate said Sunday that embattled House Majority Leader Tom DeLay needs to answer questions about his ethics and "let the people then judge for themselves."
Sen. Rick Santorum's comments seem to reflect the nervousness among congressional Republicans about the fallout from the increased scrutiny into DeLay's way of doing business.
DeLay, R-Texas, has been dogged in recent months by reports of possible ethics violations. There have been questions about his overseas travel, campaign payments to family members and his connections to lobbyists who are under investigation.
"I think he has to come forward and lay out what he did and why he did it and let the people then judge for themselves," said Santorum, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference.
"But from everything I've heard, again, from the comments and responding to those, is everything he's done was according to the law," Santorum told ABC's "This Week."
"Now you may not like some of the things he's done," Santorum said. "That's for the people of his district to decide, whether they want to approve that kind of behavior or not."
DeLay was admonished three times last year by the House ethics committee. He has blamed his woes on Democrats, liberal interest groups and the media.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said last week that the controversy was distracting DeLay from dealing with more pressing problems before Congress.
Santorum, however, said DeLay is "very effective in leading the House" and that "to date, has not been compromised."
A senior Democratic senator, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, had this advice for the Republicans who control both the House and Senate: "Be careful about how closely you embrace Mr. DeLay."
Dodd cited the new rules for the ethics committee that House Republicans rammed through in the wake of DeLay's difficulties. Those rules require a bipartisan vote before an investigation can be launched. DeLay's office also helped mount a counterattack last fall against Rep. Joel Hefley (news, bio, voting record), R-Colo., who was the ethics committee chairman when it came down against DeLay.
"Unfortunately, in his particular case, there's a process that he's tried to change so they could actually reach a determination as to whether or not he's innocent or guilty of the things he's been charged with," Dodd said. "But this is not going to go away."
DeLay "becomes the poster child for a lot of the things the Democrats think are wrong about Republican leadership. As long as he's there, he's going to become a pretty good target," Dodd said on ABC.
The House leader, who took center stage in passing legislation designed to keep alive Terri Schiavo, also has found that President Bush and congressional colleagues are distancing themselves from his comments, after her death, about judges involved in her case.
"The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior," DeLay said, raising the prospect of impeaching members of a separate and independent branch of government. Later, he complained of "an arrogant and out of control judiciary that thumbs its nose at Congress and the president."
Bush, declining to endorse DeLay's comments, said Friday that he supports "an independent judiciary." He added, "I believe in proper checks and balances."
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee said last week that the judges "handled it in a fair and independent way," although he had hoped for a different result.
Democrats have said DeLay's remarks were tantamount to inciting violence against judges.
Where were you 2 years ago when this story first came out? Why now that it hit the front page of the NYT in an effort to pile on? Why now?
Santorum is a crapweasel. Democrats lie, cheat, murder, rape, drown, steal documents and FBI files, and then murder and plunder some more. But all the press and Demmys have for ammo is garbage like this. DeLay is one of the few Republicans with cajones. He is calling out the black robed kings and potentates who really run this country. This isn't hard.
If we don't stand with him we deserve more Frists and Santorums and McCains.
If a daughter, son, or wife WORKS for a candidate and puts in the hours, I don't see the difference in them getting paid and somebody else's wife or daughter being paid for the same work.
I understand it might not look good but to me it's more of the same old double standard for Dems and Repubs.
Ye Gods! Republicans (if that's what you are, Alter) sure do love to roll over and play dead at the first sign of a fight. Let's admit it. Democrats are despicable, liars, cheaters and Socialists, but at least they have balls and will fight like hell to defend their people.
Are you meshugge? You say you are for Terri Schindler's right to live,but are trashing the lead Congressman in the fight. Tom Delay fights with words and deeds,and you?
The Democrats have to love this. They know some of our crowd will hold DeLay to some high letter of the law and start splitting hairs over whatever nonsense this non-issue is supposed to consist of. They have run out anybody who truly stands for something in similar fashion ever since the 70's.
I've said it before. I don't care if DeLay has knocked over a couple hundred banks. Politics is made up of hired guns of wealthy, influential, connected crooks and connivers. You elect the side that will do your bidding, not injure your day to day life, and war with the other side. DeLay passes these tests well. He ain't no preacher, no pope, no librarian, no saint. I don't expect one. The other side in made up of all sorts of thieves and degenerates. This is a minor transgression if a trangression at all.
The Democrats have no business lecturing anyone on morality and corruption. It's time to fight street style with them just like they do. I'm with DeLay.
The only reason the Democrats and their minions in the so-called "mainstream news media" are going after Tom DeLay is that he had the guts to right a wrong here in Texas by forcing redistricting. The last time the legislature had redistricted was in 1991 or 1992 when the Democrats controlled the governiship (the sorry Ann Richards) and both houses of the Texas legislature. In 2000 the Republicans gained control of the Texas House, but the Democrats barely controlled the Senate. In fact the total vote in Texas was nearly 60-40 in favor of Republicans. The Democrats and Republicans couldn't agree on redistiricting, so the Democrat-controlled Senate kicked the redistricting ball into Federal court where a three-judge panel (two Dems and one Repub) came up with a plan that gave the Democrats a 19-13 US House redisticting arrangement. When the Republicans won control of the Texas Senate in 2002, Tom Delay decided that it was time to do something about it--there had not been a legislature-produced redistricting plan since 1992, and it was not the Federal Court's business to do it. The Texas Senate took this on and the results were the Democrat Senators and Representatives twice going AWOL, once to Oklahoma and once to New Mexico. Finally the Reoublicans got them in line and the redistricing plan now in effect was passed. The Democrats really hate Tom DeLay because he really did what was right.
The headline does not match the article. It's interesting, though not surprising, that many of the comments here appear to be from people who read only the headline.
On the take to the tune of half a million dollars. You're the one spinning here.
You try to pay two professionals' salaries over the course of four years for only half a mil.
So all the media and the democrats have to do to pick off republicans one by one is spread lies about them? Geez, you'd think Republicans would fight stupid, obvious tactics like that, rather than give the opposition exactly what they want.
I wasn't aware that salaries in the range of 40 - 50K per year was exceptional. Furthermore, it was NOT taxpayers' money that paid the salaries of the two women.
Good thinking!!!
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