Posted on 11/18/2004 10:05:32 PM PST by Former Military Chick
aving picked up a handful of seats in this month's election, House Republicans seem to think they have a mandate to eradicate Congressional ethics standards.
On Tuesday, House Republicans unanimously elected Tom DeLay to serve another term as House majority leader, despite his unsavory record when it comes to abiding by accepted Congressional standards of conduct. He received two separate bipartisan rebukes from the normally timid ethics committee this fall.
Just in case Mr. DeLay gets into more trouble, G.O.P. lawmakers have followed up by repealing their wise party rule that barred indicted members from holding leadership positions. Only a handful of Republicans had the moral compass to object.
The Republican conference's worry about Mr. DeLay's relationship with the forces of justice stems from the same events that nailed down his current popularity. He muscled an egregiously partisan redistricting plan into Texas, and that helped Republican candidates pick up five Congressional seats there.
It is far from certain that Mr. DeLay will be charged with a crime in connection with the redistricting. During that effort, he strong-armed federal authorities into joining a search for Democratic state legislators who had left Texas to keep the plan from coming to a vote. But Mr. DeLay is plainly worried. Three of his aides were recently indicted on charges that they illegally laundered campaign money to help Texas Republicans, and prosecutors are said to be scrutinizing his own actions.
The Republicans also seem bent on reining in the ethics committee for having had the temerity to rebuke Mr. DeLay for some of his more outrageous conduct. The party's Rules Committee chairman, David Dreier, recently sent a letter to House members signaling that he plans to make it even harder than it already is for members to file an ethics complaint, and for outside groups to be heard in the process. Rumors also abound that come January, when the next Congress is seated, all five Republican members of the ethics committee, including its current chairman, Representative Joel Hefley, may be replaced.
The Republicans originally adopted the rule requiring indicted G.O.P. leaders to step down from their posts during the 1990's. At the time, the party was trying to demonstrate that it had firmer ethical standards than the Democrats, who then held the majority in the House.
Now it will be left up to party insiders on the Republican Steering Committee to recommend on a case-by-case basis whether a party leader should step aside after a state or federal felony indictment. The old era is clearly over, as are any doubts that the Republican House leadership has lost interest in the high moral ground now that it has further consolidated its power.
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Do you know anything about the prosecutor?
The prosecutor in DeLay's case is a well-known Dem political hack.
So let it backfire on the hack. I'm not concerned about one leftist rag's editorial, but I do think it looks bad, like beltway business as usual, to the public at large. Delay could easily keep power behind the scenes without the title and emerge stronger once he beats the case, which he almost certainly will, if there is even an indictment.
Surprise, surprise!
The scumbags at the New York Times don't bother to note that the whole case against DeLay and his staff is a politically motivated vendetta by a local Democrat-hack prosecutor in Texas.
If the shoes were on the other (policial party) feet, that would be the FIRST THING the scumbags at the NY Times would mention.
In other words, the Democrats have no such rule. God, I hate the NY Times.
Just out of curiosity, what rules do the Democrats have?
Don't.
Because the threat of indictment stems from a frothing Demo political hack -- Ronnie Earle, the DA of Travis County, Texas.
We've got all the white liberals in the state penned up in one county. Problem is, the DA of Travis County (where the capitol, Austin, is located) has the power of prosecution over all public officials in the state -- per the state Constitution.
Ronnie Earle has been a rabid partisan for his entire career. The indictments issued against three of Delay's aides are without merit and solely intended to embarrass Delay -- punishing him for his helping push the re-districting bill thru last summer.
Earle was a threat to indict Delay on trumped up charges, specifically for the purpose of forcing him out of his leadership spot. The GOP action justifiably takes that arrow out of Earle's quiver.
Please do not take either the GOP or Delay to task for their actions. Because, when there is a bad dog in the neighborhood, it is wise to take precautions.
This is great!!
The Socialist want ot overthrow our Constitutional Government and force their GAY Agenda on the people us. Telling us we have to sodomize each other and accept sodomization, homosexuality and same sex marriage to reach a higher plain of understanding. They expected us to be stupid and believe THIS Crap, why shouldn't they think that we would believe all of the Crap they are spouting about Rep. DeLay
Adjusting the rules so the Socialist cannot bring down a Champion of the Conservative Right is according to the Socialist not right!!
I'll be darned if that explains why the Republican controlled Congress rebuked DeLay last month.
Keep in mind that Bareny Frank was running a House of Prostitution out of his DC digs and was only reprimanded.
Also remember Jim McDermott and the leaked phone call.
And then remember Trent Lott.
Turnabout is fair play.
Because "last month" was before the election?
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