Flip Flop, Flip Flop..... Dubya's Party Flops...

[JoseCuervo]

WASHINGTON Jan 3, 2005 — House Republicans suddenly reversed course Monday, deciding to retain a tough standard for lawmaker discipline and reinstate a rule that would force Majority Leader Tom DeLay to step aside if indicted by a Texas grand jury.

However, the closed-door GOP meeting made one ethics change that could make it easier for one party to block a House ethics committee investigation of a congressman.

The provision would require a majority vote of the evenly divided committee to proceed with an investigation. The GOP voted to scrap the current system, which allowed an investigation to begin automatically if the two top committee leaders took no action on a complaint after 45 days.

The proposals go before the full House on Tuesday.


House GOP Reverses Course on Ethics Rules
Bush, Clinton to Lead Tsunami Fund Raising
DeLay, Republicans Reverse Indictment Rule Change
The surprise dual decisions on the indictment rule and the discipline standards were engineered by Speaker Dennis Hastert and by DeLay who asked GOP colleagues to undo the extreme act of loyalty they handed him in November. Then, Republicans changed a party rule so DeLay could retain his leadership post if indicted by the grand jury in Austin that charged three of the Texas Republican's associates.

When Republicans began their closed-door meeting Monday night, leaders were considering a rules change that would have made it tougher to rebuke a House member for misconduct. The proposal would have required a more specific finding of ethical violations.

Republicans gave no indication before the meeting that the indictment rule would be changed. Even more surprising was DeLay's decision to make the proposal himself.

Jonathan Grella, a DeLay spokesman, said DeLay still believed it was legitimate to allow a leader to retain his post while under indictment. But Grella said that by reinstating the rule that he step aside, DeLay was "denying the Democrats their lone issue. Anything that could undermine our agenda needs to be nipped in the bud."

Grella said Republicans did not know that DeLay would make the proposal. "He was doing some thinking and this was the conclusion he came to," the spokesman said.

Hastert made the proposal to retain the current standards of conduct.

Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., said, "It's a mark of a leader to take a bullet for the team and not for the team to take a bullet for the leader. I'm very glad we decided to stick with the rules."

Hastert spokesman John Feehery said that a change in standards of conduct "would have been the right thing to do but it was becoming a distraction."

Brendan Daly, spokesman for House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, said Republicans pulled back on the discipline rule because "the issue simply became too hot for them to handle."

Democrats on Monday toughened their own indictment rule. Previously, only committee chairmen were required to step aside if indicted. Now, the same rule applies to House Democratic leaders.

Rep. J. D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., agreed there was pressure on Republicans not to change conduct rules. "Constituents reacted and the House and, more importantly, the House leadership, responded accordingly," Hayworth said.

The House will debate all new rules proposals Tuesday, the first day of the 109th Congress.

Another Republican proposal would allow relatives to accompany a House member on a trip financed by a special interest group or nonprofit organization. Current rules specify a spouse or child may go along.

The code of conduct that was retained by the Republicans requires lawmakers and employees to conduct themselves "at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House." Some Republicans believed the standard is too general and wanted discipline to depend on a more specific finding of wrongdoing.

House Democrats and Republicans had an informal ethics truce after an investigation of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich's activities with tax-exempt organizations a probe that ended seven years ago with a financial penalty against Gingrich.

That truce ended last year when a freshman Democrat, Chris Bell of Texas, filed a complaint that led to a rebuke of DeLay. The House ethics committee cited the general rule several times in criticizing the majority leader.

However, the panel did not find that DeLay violated any other standard of conduct, even though it concluded that DeLay created the appearance that an energy company's political donors were given special access to him. DeLay also was admonished for his office's contact with federal aviation officials, seeking their intervention in a Texas political dispute.

Later, the ethics panel formally the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct also admonished Bell for filing a complaint that presented an exaggerated description of DeLay's conduct.

The outgoing chairman of the ethics committee, Republican Joel Hefley of Colorado, issued a statement before the meeting opposing any change in conduct rules that was not bipartisan.

Congressional watchdog groups joined House Democrats in opposition to a change, saying any such move would be for one purpose: to protect DeLay.

"All of this is designed to make one man truly above the law," said Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said, "Tom DeLay is a poster boy for ethics problems in the House."

 

[Moosie]

OHHH look, another cut and paste post by Gunner no-ones gunna read

 

[JoseCuervo]

Actually, it is just fun to post articles about Texans and the complete lack of ethics they have, whether in business, Congress, or in the field.

 

[Canoe]

Gunner- I thought you took back your goose blind and quit this site...

 

[The Hedgehog]

Speaking of party flops, how much isopropyl alcohol and razor blades are required to scrape those Kerry/Edwards bumper stickers off your vehicles?

 

[danr55]

Hey Gunner, you should really read this article before you go pounding your chest. Seems the ethics are strictly in place and there are no exceptions, including the House Majority Leader.

Greenhorn, why would he do that.. He's saving them for the next time around.

 

[BigHornRam]

Wrong Dan,

Gunner's already got the Hillary 08 bumper sticker over the top of his Kerry / Edwards sticker. Problem solved.

 

[1_pointer]

I'm thinking a Hillary '08 bumper sticker would make my pronghorn hunt in WY next year much more interesting!

 

[JoseCuervo]

Speaking of party flops, how much isopropyl alcohol and razor blades are required to scrape those Kerry/Edwards bumper stickers off your vehicles?

You can't use alcohol to clean the adhesive off the rubber bumper of the Mercedes. It works much better to use a bit of hairspray. Comes right off.


So Greenhorn, are you happy with Dubya and his approach to managing Public Lands, for YOUR benefit? Tell me again which of his programs to drill every square inch of Montana are going to improve your hunting....

 

[cjcj]

Here we go again.....Dubya ruined everything.. including the "Grand Canyon" remember that one Gunner?

 

[danr55]

I still want to know if Gummer is a lawyer. That question was posed a while back and he just avoided the thread after that.

Whatdayasay Gummer?? Are you a low down scum sucking lawyer?

Question: How can you tell when it's really cold outside?
Answer: You see lawyers with thier hands in thier own pockets.

Question: What's black and brown and looks good on a lawyer?
Answer: A Rotwieler or a doberman.

Question: What do you have when you have 2000 lawyers buried up to thier necks?
Answer: A good start.

Question: What did the first lawyer admitted to heaven say?
Answer: We'll let you know when it happens..

 

[BigHornRam]

Question: How do you get a lawyer out of a tree?
Answer: Cut the rope.

 

[cjcj]

That was some good stuff. and true...I can`t stand most of those "truth twisting" pricks....But for some reason i like Gunner? even though he is way,way out there.. Danr that was a good laugh.. i busted a gut on #3

 

[sra61]

I can't tell you how much I agree. I think we should continue to send all that money to the ARABs for our oil, instead of being self dependent. DUH.

 

[danr55]

sra61, how much do you know about chemistry?

 

[Moosie]

But for some reason i like Gunner?

I like him too, thats why we hunt together and I let him post here. Being one of the Top Prosicuting Atterneys in the Valley You'd think he would have better people skills .. eh He acts like he works for a Company on an Assemby line with not much people interaction.

Gunner, Game on for Sunday duck shoot.... (For those wanting me to Dunk the Punk, I'm starting to take bids now !!!!)

 

[JoseCuervo]

Moosie,
Keep an eye on the weather report.....

We got a 3rd?