ETHICS PROBLEMS….I really am leaving for the airport in a few minutes, but check out this LA Times report on the latest shenanigans in the House Ethics Committee. Hot on the heels of the Tom DeLay fiasco, Republicans not only sacked the chairman of the ethics committee but also rewrote its rules to make future investigations much more difficult. Democrats are protesting by halting business, which is apparently like punishing a child by taking away his brussels sprouts:
Republicans criticized the decision as a publicity stunt, and indicated that they were in no hurry to get the committee functioning.
“The Democrats have chosen to shut down the ethics committee,” said Ron Bonjean, press secretary for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). “The only way to get around this impasse is for the Democrats to put the ethics process above partisan politics.”
The shamelessness of House Republicans is truly breathtaking. If they don’t watch out, it could be their Waterloo.
