Posted on 10/02/2005 9:25:39 AM PDT by weegee
Seize this moment for reform An opportunity for a new covenant By CHRIS BELL
THE political frenzy swirling around Tom DeLay's criminal indictment is about so much more than Republicans and Democrats; it's about more than Tom DeLay and Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle. This all-too-common analysis being advanced by politicos and pundits alike misses the real point.
During the past year, many have wanted to turn the ethics complaint I filed against DeLay into some sort of personal battle between DeLay and me, but that was never what the complaint was about.
What has been missed, then and now, is that this is ultimately about a corrupt system in need of true reform. It's about how rampant corruption has an impact on the lives of all Texans, indeed all Americans. And, most importantly, it's about making positive change. Today, we have a historic opportunity to bring real ethics reform to Texas.
So much of our political system has become largely a self-preservation society for entrenched incumbents who need only heed the clarion call of cash and the braying of partisan ideologues. Make no mistake — both parties in Washington pledge fealty to the status quo. When I filed my ethics complaint, a few leading Democrats thought that I should back down, not because they thought I had the facts wrong, but because they wanted to preserve the so-called "ethics truce" that had existed for seven years, during which no member would dare file an ethics complaint against another no matter how foul the conduct.
Only in Washington would placing a truce on ethics make sense to some people. Some would obviously rather look the other way than admit that the universe does not revolve around them and then act accordingly.
I still think that what I did in filing the ethics complaint was unremarkable, or at least should be so. What saddens me is that none of my colleagues in Congress has filed one since then despite numerous reports of unethical conduct that have come to light involving other members of Congress.
Clearly, elected leaders of both parties have abdicated their responsibilities to police themselves. As a former congressman, I find this extremely disappointing. As a native Texan, I am also saddened to watch as that systemic corruption and apathy seeps its ugly way from Washington into the pores of the Austin political establishment. The so-called "culture of corruption" is very real, and it is alive and well in both Washington and Austin.
However, with a cloud this big, we can all take comfort in the fact that there is a correspondingly mammoth silver lining: The steady stream of scandals is focusing attention on the need for real ethics reform. We can use this opportunity to work toward bipartisan ethics reform.
As I travel the state in my campaign for governor, I am recognizing a bipartisan consensus for reforms grounded in the principles of transparency and accountability. If we seize this opportunity to push for ethics reform, we will have accomplished something more meaningful than targeting the cash-and-carry criminality of one partisan leader.
Taking out Tom DeLay would boost the morale of the Democratic Party and, I dare say, improve the representation for the 22nd Congressional District — but it would prove a pyrrhic victory on its own. Everyone but the scoundrel wants fair elections we can all trust. Everyone wants a democracy to hold the corrupt accountable. Taking on Tom DeLay without accomplishing these goals is an empty pursuit.
I worked for ethics reform long before Tom DeLay and I crossed paths, but our stories have become inextricably linked. I'm sure that I will have to answer questions about Tom DeLay for the rest of my life. Someday, I would like to be able to say that even though he has repeatedly demonstrated his passion for power at the expense of ethics and integrity — to the detriment of those he serves — we all owe him a great debt. Without the scandals he caused, the people of Texas would not have demanded real ethics reform and reclaimed our government from the stench of corruption and special interests.
A new covenant between Texans and their government, starting with bipartisan ethics reform to make our state government and campaigns more transparent and accountable, would be a welcome and fitting conclusion to Tom DeLay's long history of unjustifiable actions. More importantly, it would be a new beginning for Texas.
Bell, a former Houston congressman, filed the ethics complaint against Tom DeLay that resulted in the House Ethics Committee unanimously admonishing the then-majority leader.
Burts the balloon the left tries to use to claim that redistricting was just about putting more Republicans in office. It was also about getting more representational districts for minorities.
The Houston Comical is in full Get DeLay mode today.
Chris Bell is desperately trying to maintain any relevancy in Texas politics. The Houston Chronicle will gladly assist in any way possible.
Has he lost his race for dog catcher yet? He's missed out on just about every other office.
I believe he wants to lose the governor's race next.
Bell is SUCH a loser....he filed those ethics complaints AFTER losing his election, but before leaving Washington, didn't he???
I have been tickled to death over Perry's performance re: Katrina and Rita...if for no other reason than to make Bell miserable....like the miserable rat that he is...
BTW...I heard Rahm Emmanuel on MTP this morning...I think he managed to fit the words "corruption" and "cronyism" into his time on the show about 100 times...he couldn't say a sentence without one of those two words...
I just laughed...all he is an ex-Clinton cheerleader...he just needs a megaphone and pom-poms!!!!
And in other news it is being reported that the earth is round.
"In what may prove the best-known legacy of his single term, Bell filed an ethics complaint that led to admonishments of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, who engineered the redistricting plan that cost Bell his seat.Got that, he lost in the DEMOCRATIC primary. So much for blaming Delay.He lost his seat in the March Democratic primary after his district was redrawn.
As to those 'admonishments'.. as I recall that was the least they could do without saying outright the complaints were BOGUS and also only came about do to some RINO's on the committee who had a hardo grudge against The Hammer and demanded something be done, and who also were subsequently removed by Hassert PDQ.
Back to the Bell nut case, this is what he has coming up in the near future:
October 6, 2005 - 7:30pm, Join Chris at Air America Night in Dallas!
Calling all DFW area progressives! Chris Bell will be a special guest as the Dallas Air America affiliate, KXEB 910 AM, throws a party on October 6th at the FunAsia Theater in Richardson. Come on out to meet Chris, hear him say a few words about the governor's race, and then sit back and enjoy a screening of the new HBO documentary "Left of the Dial." More details are available on the KXEB website.
And also per this moonbat's website, his sights are now on Gov Perry and bringing him down.
Chris Bell doesn't want to be labelled a racist for lashing out against the black Democrat who won his seat.
He filed a questionable ethics charge because he was a lame duck representative and did not expect to have to pay any "price" for his act against DeLay.
Maybe they should concentrate on this:
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/articles/article.html?id=8650
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