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Republicans Want to Change Ethics Rules

TragicMonkey

Poisoned Waffles
TragicMonkey
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House Republicans proposed changing their rules last night to allow members indicted by state grand juries to remain in a leadership post, a move that would benefit Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) in case he is charged by a Texas grand jury that has indicted three of his political associates, according to GOP leaders.
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House Republicans adopted the indictment rule in 1993, when they were trying to end four decades of Democratic control of the House, in part by highlighting Democrats' ethical lapses. They said at the time that they held themselves to higher standards than prominent Democrats such as then-Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (Ill.), who eventually pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was sentenced to prison.

The GOP rule drew little notice until this fall, when DeLay's associates were indicted and Republican lawmakers began to worry that their majority leader might be forced to step aside if the grand jury targeted him next.
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It's not at all hypocritical!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...ashpost/20041117/pl_washpost/a54572_2004nov16
 
Re: Re: Republicans Want to Change Ethics Rules

Marquis de Carabas said:
No, not hypocritical in the slightest. The original position of the Republicans was to exert as much control as possible, and the new position is to exert as much control as possible. Ruthlessly consistent, I'd say.
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Every day, in every way, Republicans are getting more and more like the Daleks.
 
Re: Re: Re: Republicans Want to Change Ethics Rules

TragicMonkey said:
Every day, in every way, Republicans are getting more and more like the Daleks.
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Hey!

Edited to add: Come on, man, at least the Daleks are COOL.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Republicans Want to Change Ethics Rules

Cleon said:
Hey!

Edited to add: Come on, man, at least the Daleks are COOL.
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Lol. No offense.

Davros is registered as a Libertarian.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Republicans Want to Change Ethics Rules

TragicMonkey said:
Lol. No offense.

Davros is registered as a Libertarian.
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Funny, I thought Bush just had him sacked as Attorney General...
 
Re: Re: Republicans Want to Change Ethics Rules

Marquis de Carabas said:
No, not hypocritical in the slightest. The original position of the Republicans was to exert as much control as possible, and the new position is to exert as much control as possible. Ruthlessly consistent, I'd say.
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I'm not sure I understand what the dustup is about. I mean, even if DeLay were to drop stone cold dead, the new Majority Leader would still be a Republican. Just a different one. And since there are over 200 to choose from, I don't think they'd have any trouble filling the post.
 
Re: Re: Re: Republicans Want to Change Ethics Rules

BPSCG said:
I'm not sure I understand what the dustup is about. I mean, even if DeLay were to drop stone cold dead, the new Majority Leader would still be a Republican. Just a different one. And since there are over 200 to choose from, I don't think they'd have any trouble filling the post.
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It makes quite a bit of difference who is the Majority Leader, they set the agenda and strategy for their party in the house. Think of it like a combat officer, the difference between a good officer and a bad one, can be very noticable. Even if they both in the same military and are following the same orders from above.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Republicans Want to Change Ethics Rules

IllegalArgument said:
It makes quite a bit of difference who is the Majority Leader, they set the agenda and strategy for their party in the house. Think of it like a combat officer, the difference between a good officer and a bad one, can be very noticable. Even if they both in the same military and are following the same orders from above.
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Of course. But that doesn't mean the Repubs are just going to hold a "Who Wants To Be The Majority Leader?" lottery. They're going to search for the smartest, most hard-working, overall best guy they can find. FWIW, Tom Davis, from Virginia's 11th district, would be a prime candidate.
 
Tom Davis is probably too "liberal", probably the whip, whoever that is, or one of the other top leaders, would get the nod.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Republicans Want to Change Ethics Rules

BPSCG said:
Of course. But that doesn't mean the Repubs are just going to hold a "Who Wants To Be The Majority Leader?" lottery. They're going to search for the smartest, most hard-working, overall best guy they can find.
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Thanks for making me spray apple juice on my computer.

I'm not sure why you think that they will try something as methodical as that with the next selection, but if they do is there any chance of adding ethical to the list of criteria?


.....................................

TragicMonkey
Every day, in every way, Republicans are getting more and more like the Daleks.
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I don't know about that, but I will say that Ashcroft's singing reminds me of Vogon poetry.

It would be cool to hear Cheney just come out and say "resistance is futile."
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Republicans Want to Change Ethics Rules

Ladewig said:
It would be cool to hear Cheney just come out and say "resistance is futile."
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I picture him following Basil in the German episode of Fawlty Towers, and segueing seamlessly from reciting the menu to the phrase "and trespassers will be tied up with piano wire."

Either that, or Bucky Katt:

Satchell: "What would you say to the voters?"

Bucky: "Read my lips, I will kill you all."
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Republicans Want to Change Ethics Rules

BPSCG said:
Of course. But that doesn't mean the Repubs are just going to hold a "Who Wants To Be The Majority Leader?" lottery. They're going to search for the smartest, most hard-working, overall best guy they can find.
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Probably not. They are going to find the most powerful guy they can who wants to forward the agenda.

Smarts and hard-working are irrelevent compared to power. They may also have them, but they are not the most important criteria.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Republicans Want to Change Ethics Rules

BPSCG said:
They're going to search for the smartest, most hard-working, overall best guy they can find.
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You mean like they did when they nominated Bush for President?
 
Re: Re: Re: Republicans Want to Change Ethics Rules

BPSCG said:
I'm not sure I understand what the dustup is about. I mean, even if DeLay were to drop stone cold dead, the new Majority Leader would still be a Republican. Just a different one. And since there are over 200 to choose from, I don't think they'd have any trouble filling the post.
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It only matters to the extent that the appearence of an ethically sound Congressional leadership matters. I guess the Republicans don't think that matters much anymore. They sure cared when they pushed through this rule to start with. What's changed since then?
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Republicans Want to Change Ethics Rules

hgc said:
It only matters to the extent that the appearence of an ethically sound Congressional leadership matters. I guess the Republicans don't think that matters much anymore. They sure cared when they pushed through this rule to start with. What's changed since then?
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That's easy, they are in power, people in power want to stay in power. The rule was put in place in 92, according to NPR. He's in a powerful position and he doesn't want to lose it.

I'm not familiar with the grand jury investagation, so I'm sure how much of this is polictical and how much of in is actaully criminal. For the record, DeLay has not been Indicted for anything yet.
 
I'm not sure I understand what the dustup is about. I mean, even if DeLay were to drop stone cold dead, the new Majority Leader would still be a Republican.
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But maybe not a sleaseball ethics violating Republican. I call that a big difference. You are not equating all Repubs with ethically challenged sleazeballs, are you? There might be a few politicians around that have a sense of right and wrong (none from my state, though).
 
Re: Re: Re: Republicans Want to Change Ethics Rules

BPSCG said:
I'm not sure I understand what the dustup is about. I mean, even if DeLay were to drop stone cold dead, the new Majority Leader would still be a Republican. Just a different one. And since there are over 200 to choose from, I don't think they'd have any trouble filling the post.
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Its that whole "appearance" thing I think. It would be one thing to have a vote to replace him, but to forcibly remove him from the post due to ethics problems isn't the sort of publicity they're likely to want.
 
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