I know these kinds of reactions are predictable, but they’re necessary. If the Dem Majority Leader had been rebuked by the House Ethics Committee three times in six days for a variety of sordid scandals, you better believe the GOP and the various sympathetic groups would go apoplectic until he or she was gone.
House Democrats and government watchdog groups called on House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) to step down from his leadership post after being admonished by the ethics committee twice over the last seven days.
This morning, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and outgoing freshman Rep. Chris Bell (D-Texas), who filed an ethics complaint in June that led to the most recent admonishment of DeLay, both called for DeLay to step down as majority leader.
Four government watchdog groups, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Public Citizen, Common Cause, and Public Campaign, also called for DeLay to resign as majority leader during a joint conference call with reporters.
Dems can and should keep this up. DeLay and his party have to feel some pressure or the story will fade away and we’ll be back to the status quo.
So far, however, not a single Republican lawmaker — not even one — has publicly criticized DeLay for this ethics crisis. Their reaction speaks volumes.
Pragmatism appears to rule the day.
One prominent Republican, speaking on condition of anonymity, echoed Mr. Hoyer’s assessment, saying the elections — and not the ethics rebukes alone — would determine Mr. DeLay’s fate.
This is discouraging, but typical for the GOP. Ethical standards in government are meaningless when compared to victory on Election Day. Let’s not forget, Newt Gingrich, despite all of his ethical lapses and ability to inspire widespread disgust, enjoyed the support of congressional Republicans right up until Dems won seats in the 1998 midterm elections. It was the first time the president’s party had won seats in the sixth year of a presidency in generations — and all of a sudden, Newt was gone.
In other words, DeLay can break every rule in the book, but unless the GOP loses a few seats, they’ll see no need for a change in leadership, no matter how criminally corrupt it is.
The almost-amusing part of this, however, is what the recent developments mean for DeLay’s shot at Speaker.
[S]ome Republicans said the ethics rebukes could haunt DeLay if he tries to become speaker. Some lawmakers expect Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) to retire in 2006 or perhaps step down from the speakership next year if President Bush, his ally and friend, should lose the Nov. 2 election.
As the second-ranking leader, DeLay would automatically be considered a potential successor. But Rep. Mark Edward Souder (R-Ind.) said the Texan “will have a tough battle for speaker” because of his unyielding conservatism and the attacks on his ethics record.
On the surface, this might seem like good news. DeLay has been rebuked by the Ethics Committee four times and is under a grand jury investigation for corruption in Texas, which in turn gives the GOP pause before elevating him to be Speaker of the House.
I don’t mean to be negative, but I look at this in an entirely different way: how could the House Republicans even consider giving DeLay a promotion? I really am trapped in a Twilight Zone episode.