Posted on 11/18/2006 6:01:53 PM PST by Behind Liberal Lines
WASHINGTON--They won't take over congress until next year, but there are already signs that Democrats are abandoning any real effort at reforming the so-called "culture of corruption" in Congress. According to the New York Times:
Sweeping change... may be a tough sell within the party. Representative John P. Murtha, Democrat of Pennsylvania, was embarrassed by disclosures last week that he had dismissed the leadership proposals with a vulgarity at a private meeting. But Mr. Murtha is hardly the only Democrat who objects to broad changes.Senator Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who will oversee any proposal as the incoming chairwoman of the Rules Committee, for example, said she was opposed to an independent Congressional ethics watchdog.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the Times reports, the Democrats are now saying that real reform is not needed, now that those "wascally wepublicans" are out of office:
“There is an understanding on our side that the Republicans paid a price for a lot of the abuses that evolved,” said Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, alluding to earmarks. Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat and a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, said the scandals of the current Congress were “about the K Street Project for the Republicans,” referring to the party’s initiative to put more Republicans in influential lobbying posts and build closer ties to them.
The Times notes that even earmark reform will probably go nowhere, now that they are controlled by Democrats:
Two House Democrats, Representatives Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, have proposed a measure they say would block a lawmaker from requesting an earmark that would benefit a company, group or lobbying firm that employed a member of the lawmaker’s family or a former member of the lawmaker’s staff.What was that Roger Daltry sang about the new boss again...?But almost no one expects the Democrats to enact such a change, in part because many have close ties to former staff members or family members in the lobbying business.
Hard to clean the floor when your feet are covered in mud.
Another oxymoron for my collection --- "Democraps" and "Ethics Reform" ----
You really did not think this would actually happen, did you???
And this surpises.............who?
It'sd hard to teach a Donkey new tricks when the old ones work so well.
The Clintons were going to be the most ethical administration in history. Who takes these people seriously?
Barney Frank lecturing us on ethics is really all we need to know about the Dems' attitude in the matter.
Sin and ethics are they the same? /sarcasm
Does this mean that the Democrats are also against ethics reforms when they involve the Republicans?
Is it proper to use "Democrats" and "Ethics" in the same sentence?
All the Democrats wanted was to regain power. Now there is no need to deliver. All those special interests, lobbyists and earmarks are GOOD now.
I like to pay about 10 40 year old fat Harley chicks to rape him.
Don't ya just love it when the RATS talk about "Ethics"? Should be fun to watch.
How can Democrats reform, something, they know nothing about?
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