Let's Not Delay Ethical Reforms in Congress

The news today that Thom DeLay, Member of Congress from Texas, and the former Majority Leader for the House of Representatives; had stopped attempting to reclaim his leadership post is an example of better late then never.

Reuters

DeLay Abandons Bid to Remain House Leader

AP - 1 hour, 7 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Embattled Rep. Tom DeLay on Saturday abandoned his bid to remain as House majority leader, clearing the way for leadership elections among Republicans eager to shed the taint of scandal. In a letter to rank-and-file Republicans, DeLay said, "I have always acted in an ethical manner."

That the arrogance of power caused him to not only not just resign his leadership post, but to continue holding the House captive to his legal problems truly indicates his lack of regard to the legislative duties that his fellow congress members must deal with. Aristotle wrote many millenia ago "That power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" and his observation is sadly reinforced almost daily by the current partisan leadership in the Congress. You have the Senate Majority Leader, Dr. Bill Frist, not running for another term while under a cloud of suspicion. We all are listening to the Abramoff scandal with it's laundry list of members of congress, a majority of whom are Republican, who accepted massive political contributions with undeniable links to favorable pork barrel legislation or amendments to appropriation bills to favor clients with special treatment. This goes far beyond the position that as a Conservative my positions are in agreement with those who donate to my campaign to paraphrase an unidentified but sadly not atypical member of the leadership.

When you look at the neutering of the House Ethics Committee you realize that no one wanted to even consider reigning in this culture of indulgence, malfiesance, and votes for sale to not only the highest bidder, but the well connected. This is also an outgrowth of the "K Street Project" where the Republicans demanded that lobbying firms be sure that all employment be peopled with lobbyists whose partisan registration passed the RNC litmus test. Keep watch as we see this SELLING OF THE CONGRESS story unravel! Our fondest hope is that we might find a public outcry for true reform and a new class of members of congress that will reflect positively on a renewed committment to honest government like we saw in the Watergate class that brought us Patricia Schroeder, former congresswoman from Colorado, and others of like reputation to the Halls of Congress. Keep an eye on this blog as we write a continuing series on the "Selling of the Congress"!