...I'm okay with being REALITY-based.




Thursday, July 15, 2004
      ( 5:31 PM )
 
Ethics?  We Don't Need No Stinkin' Ethics
 
So there is this Congressman Tom DeLay - formerly known as The Hammer - who is the powerful fascist conservative who orchestrated the illegal redistricting in Texas and who has been the leading strong arm against moderate Republicans in Congress - widely known as the most powerful member of Congress.  But you knew that.  You might also have known that he has his own PAC that raised money for him.  But he illegally used the money raised for him to push the redistricting effort.  Shocker, I know.  Now he has been brought up on charges in the House Ethics Committee.  But as is usual in this incestuous organization, four out of five of the Republicans on the Committee have accepted campaign contributions from DeLay's Pac.
 
Four of the five House ethics committee Republicans investigating Majority Leader Tom DeLay have accepted money in the past from the fund-raising operation involved in the complaint against him. 

While leaders in both parties maintain organizations to raise money for candidates, the appearance of a conflict in DeLay's case is enough alone to warrant hiring an independent counsel of the type that investigated dethroned former speakers Jim Wright and Newt Gingrich, watchdog groups said Thursday.

"Mr. DeLay's stature as one of the most powerful members of Congress — with the capacity to extract retribution from anyone — makes it especially difficult for his peers to sit in judgment of him," said Common Cause president Chellie Pingree.


Experts are now saying that the issue won't be adequately resolved without an independent counsel due to the conflict of interest.  Not only do these Republicans have to sit in judgment against the man who can cripple them politically, but the also accepted money from his corrupt PAC!  But DeLay is fighting back.  Through his spokesman, he says that he's fully confident the Committee can deal with the issues.  And besides, this is just another Democratic tactic:

"It's worth noting that we're in the summer of the election year and this is the Democrats' strategy. They don't have any policy or accomplishments or agenda to speak of, so they are going to stick to politics of personal destruction," Grella [DeLay's aide] said.
 Yeah.  Because Democrats have nothing better to do.  And Republicans have accomplished SO much and have a really great agenda ... oh and they never engage in "politics of personal destruction."

It's time to clean House.  You can start by helping this guy.



| -- permanent link