No Time to High-Five

It was with a warm heart this morning that I read the following line:

"You guys better get out of my way," he said. "Where's our security?"

That was "The Hammer" feeling a little testy after the House voted to overturn their gutting of the Ethics Committee rules. Not that the Republicans would admit that the rules were bad in the first place. That would be to much to ask. "We were absolutely right," said Rep. David Dreier, a California Republican.

I guess he must have meant his political stance when he said "right", and not changing the ethics rules to protect Tom Delay. He'd have a hard time finding any supporters there. Even staunch right wing pundits were starting to question the Solomon like wisdom of the the republicans there.  Have no fear, however the partisan bickering is still going full throttle. Somehow, us Democrats are to blame for not accepting the new rules.

"The Democrats remain absolutely unwilling to compromise," said Rep. Doc Hastings, a Republican of Washington and the committee chairman. "It is severely damaging to this institution for the other side of the aisle to keep the doors locked on the ethics committee."

Hmm was it as damaging as it was when you violated long standing practices in the House, and forced through the changes without the approval or consultation  of the minority?  I mean that would be pretty damaging.  Heck that might even make a mockery of the whole Ethics Committee.

Was it as damaging to the House as it was when Denny Hastert "appointed" you to head the committee in place of Joel Hefley,simply because he dared to admonish Tom Delay 3 times for ethical "lapses"?

Oh wait I forgot that had nothing to do with Tom Delay at all. Just listen to Tom, he had no role in it.

"This has been the speaker's project all along," he said.

Right Tom. Charlie McCarthy was less of a pupet than Dennis Hastert is. Your sincerity rings through loud and clear. You control the House with an iron fist, and few people in your party dare oppose you. That is how you earned your nickname isn't it?

And that's what worries me. The draconian way Tom Delay runs the House is why we shouldn't be cheering over this turn of events. In some ways, this is worse.

Why?

Because the part that wasn't repealed was the makeup of the committee. The republicans still have it stacked with peoples like Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), who is closely linked to Tom DeLay and last year donated $10,000 to his legal defense fund.  And Smith isn't the only member of the ethics panel who opened his wallet for DeLay, yet will have to sit in judgement of him.  Rep. Tom Cole also donated $5,000 to help defray DeLay's mounting legal bill for his ethics problems.

What's more, four of the five Republicans on the ethics panel have received contributions from DeLay's federal action committee, Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC).

Does that sound like a fair place to conduct an investigation? If this were a jury, someone would be guilty of tampering. What worries me, and should worry you, no matter what side of you take, is that a kangaroo court will somehow legitimize possibly unethical or illegal conduct. This matter deserves an independent council to investigate it. Hopefully someone a little less purient than Ken Starr, but someone just as dogged. If Mr. Delay has nothing to hide, he should relish the chance to clear his name once and for all.