Tom DeLay and Ethics

Warning: the above title is an oxymoron.

How could such a backstabbing sleazebucket rise to such heights in Congress? And does this say more about DeLay or more about the system that keeps promoting and protecting him?

As if you didn’t already know more than you ever wanted to know about this sanctimonious power-crazed bigot, click here for even more fun facts about the Hammer. Yes, the article is obviously just a parody, but when someone’s sleaze quotient reaches a certain height (or depth), there’s almost nothing slanderous you could say. DeLay does an unsurpassed job of combining corruption and self-righteousness.

As you probably know, the same Republican leadership that thumped the Bible and spouted moral platitudes during Clinton’s presidency is now trying to undo the ethics standards they themselves put in place 10 years ago. First they scrapped their own rule requiring party leaders to step down if they are indicted, allowing DeLay to keep his post if he gets indicted for illegal corporate donations. (They’re also rationalizing DeLay’s probable indictment by pointing out that the District Attorney who’s pushing for an indictment is a Democrat!!!) Well, that settles that.

Next they proposed changing the House rules to make it more difficult to bring an ethics complaint against a representative.

Thirdly, they decided at the last minute to avoid public humiliation by not making these changes after all. Their spin: DeLay says he’s confident he won’t be indicted, so he won’t need any new rules to hide behind.

However, there will be a change in the House Ethics Committee. The committee, consisting of five Democrats and five Republicans, only needs a tie vote to launch an investigation of a representative. Under the new rule, a majority vote will be required in order to begin an investigation. So if all five members of either party can just tighten the ranks, hold their ground and vote against any investigation no matter what – hey, we don’t need no steenking ethics!

Another change: the current Chairman of the House Ethics Committee, Joel Hefley of Colorado, will be losing his chairmanship. He made the mistake of allowing the committee to investigate DeLay in the first place. He must be punished.

So, in a nutshell, it’s more important to: A) Maintain high ethical standards; or B) Rally ‘round the Sleazebag.

If you’re a Republican member of the House of Representatives, choose B).