This year, the House Ethics Committee, led by Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.), issued multiple admonishments of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. In response, congressional Republicans are taking steps, not to replace DeLay, but to replace Hefley. How typical.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a terrible surprise. In October, Hefley was already feeling considerable heat.
House ethics committee Chairman Joel Hefley (R-Colo.) said [in early October] that Republican lawmakers have threatened him in the wake of his panel’s recent admonishments of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas).
Asked what response he has received from House Republicans since two ethics committee admonishments were issued in a span of seven days, Hefley said, “I’ve been attacked; I’ve been threatened.”
Those threats were more than just talk. The thugs who make up the House leadership, like their leader in the White House, demand unflinching loyalty at all times. Running the Ethics Committee in a mildy even-handed fashion is cause for dismissal.
House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert is leaning toward removing the House ethics committee chairman, who admonished House Majority Leader Tom DeLay this fall and has said he will treat DeLay like any other member, several Republican aides said yesterday.
Although Hastert (Ill.) has not made a decision, the expectation among leadership aides is that the chairman, Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.), long at odds with party leaders because of his independence, will be replaced when Congress convenes next week.
So, if Hefley’s gone, who will replace him? House insiders told the Post the likely replacement is Rep. Lamar S. Smith of Texas.
Given the Republicans’ m.o., this makes far more sense. The Ethics Committee, under Hefley’s leadership, has had the audacity to investigate actual wrongdoing. Smith, meanwhile, is a known right-wing partisan who would welcome the opportunity to take orders from party leaders, especially DeLay.
For example, Smith is not only a close DeLay ally, he personally donated to DeLay’s legal defense fund this year. Indeed, the two have been close for some time. Earlier this year, DeLay formed a three-person working group to undermine the separation of powers and empower the House to sidestep federal court rulings Republicans don’t like. The first person DeLay chose to join him in this endeavor was, you guessed it, Smith.
I’m not surprised by the leadership ditching Hefley for Smith, but only because I’ve largely lost the capacity to find anything the House GOP does surprising.
They know no limits; they have no shame.