GOP Replaces Ethics Chief with Repub Who Donated to DeLay's Legal Defense Fund!

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Ethics is a joke with the GOP. They replaced an independent-minded and ethical ethics chief with one who has donated to DeLay's LDF (Legal Defense Fund.)

House Republican leaders tightened their control over the ethics committee yesterday by ousting its independent-minded chairman, appointing a replacement who is close to them and adding two new members who donated to the legal defense fund of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.).

Hefley said in an interview yesterday that he believes he was removed because he was too independent. He said there is "a bad perception out there that there was a purge in the committee and that people were put in that would protect our side of the aisle better than I did."

"Nobody should be there to protect anybody," he said. "They should be there to protect the integrity of the institution."

My gosh! The party that promised "integrity and honesty" actually removed a guy who was full of integrity and honesty!

Democrats and public interest groups said that changes made to the composition of the committee made it unlikely that DeLay's power would be threatened by committee action, no matter how many questions are raised about his activities.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the removal of Hefley sent "a chilling message to members who value upholding the highest ethical standard over partisan loyalty."

Fred Wertheimer, president of the watchdog group Democracy 21, said Hastert had "seriously damaged the integrity of the House as an institution and his own credibility as the leader of the House."

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From the Denver Post:

House GOP shifts on ethics

House Republicans crossed over to the wrong side of the ethical divide last November when they rewrote their own rules in a misguided effort to safeguard Rep. Tom DeLay.

DeLay was admonished twice by the House ethics committee in 2004 and is threatened by a grand jury investigation in his home state of Texas.

The idea of rewriting the House ethics rules for someone who's already under investigation for allegedly bending other rules is beyond the pale. But DeLay and his cronies were emboldened by election results which saw the Republicans win an enhanced majority. DeLay, known as The Hammer, was as responsible as anyone for GOP gains, thanks to the heavy-handed redistricting plan he helped push through Texas state government.

The rules change ignited a political firestorm and on Monday DeLay hoisted a rare white flag and asked GOP members to revert to the original rule.

House members who remember the revolution of 1994 know that one reason Republicans took control of the House was due to the ethical lapses of some Democrats. As Connecticut Rep. Christopher Shays put it, public servants "have a responsibility to the American people to maintain the highest standards of conduct." Newt Gingrich, who engineered the GOP triumph, later lost his perch as speaker due to ethical concerns, as did his successor, Bob Livingston. But GOP leaders forgot the lessons of the past and hoped to soften the ethics rules to make it more difficult for lawmakers to discipline a colleague for unethical behavior. DeLay would have been able to keep his post even if he is indicted. A Texas grand jury is looking into his campaign finance practices.

No matter what happens in Texas, the House ethics rules, written by Republicans in the first place, shouldn't be changed to create a safety net for DeLay.

Now the question is: What becomes of Rep. Joel Hefley, the Colorado Springs Republican who has ably chaired the ethics committee?

Washington circles have been buzzing that House Speaker Dennis Hastert will dump Hefley from the position to assuage DeLay. Hefley and DeLay have been at odds and his committee admonished DeLay twice last year.

As ethics chair, Hefley is the House's top cop. It's not an enviable position. As if he's campaigning to be removed, Hefley issued a strong statement Monday just hours before Republicans decided to flip-flop on the rules change: "Ethics reform must be bipartisan and this package is not bipartisan," Hefley said. He has it exactly right. If Hastert replaces Hefley, that will send a strong message. The wrong message.

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~417~2634502,00.html

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From the Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ethics3feb03,1,3241456.story

WASHINGTON — The House ethics committee chairman who presided over three rebukes of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) was bounced from the job Wednesday and replaced by a Republican congressman from Washington state.

The new chairman is Rep. Doc Hastings, the committee's second-ranking Republican. He was named by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) to take the gavel from Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.).

In addition, Hastert appointed three new members to the panel, including two — Reps. Lamar S. Smith (R-Texas) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.) — whose political action committees have contributed to DeLay's legal defense fund. Smith's PAC contributed $5,000 in 2001 and an additional $5,000 between July and September 2004; Cole's gave $5,000 between July and September 2004.

The third new Republican member is Rep. Melissa A. Hart of Pennsylvania.

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Republicans taking the high road, I see. Preach morals but don't practice them.
If Delay is their hero their party is in big trouble!

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More GOP "ethics."

NY Times killed "Hump" story to help Bush

http://www.bartcop.com/hump-back.jpg

That the story hadn't gotten more serious treatment in the mainstream press was largely thanks to a well-organized media effort by the Bush White House and the Bush/Cheney campaign to label those who attempted to investigate the bulge as "conspiracy buffs" (Washington Post, 10/9/04).

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/020505F.shtml