It’s not that House Republicans are willing to go over-the-top once in a while; it’s that they just don’t care anymore whether their conduct is ethical or not. <\/p>\n
Tom DeLay, a criminally corrupt leader who’s been admonished four times for violating congressional ethics rules, is about to be indicted for a criminal fundraising scheme in Texas. House rules would require the majority leader to step down if indicted, so House Republicans are changing the rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n The House GOP caucus is likely to vote today to end its rule requiring leaders to step down if indicted, thus shielding Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) in the event that criminal charges are brought against him in a highly controversial case in Texas.<\/p>\n The effort to change the decade-old rule is being led by Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-Texas) to head off the threat posed by what Republicans say is a Democratic political witch hunt against DeLay after his success in redistricting Texas in the GOP’s favor. <\/p>\n Austin’s district attorney, Ronnie Earle, has indicted two of DeLay’s closest fundraisers for their role in that effort and could indict DeLay himself.<\/p>\n […]<\/p>\n Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told The Hill that the rule change, first reported by The Hill yesterday, “reflects a reality that [Earle’s investigation is] nothing but a political witch hunt bent on taking him to court. It’s the final phase that Democrats are coming to grips that Republicans are a permanent majority. There’s not any question it’ll pass.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Notice that part about a “permanent majority”? I thought you might. Let’s also not forget the breathtaking hypocrisy.<\/p>\n Republicans have used Democrats’ ethical lapses, including a check-kiting scandal at the House bank, to their political advantage. In 1987, then-Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) told The Washington Post: “[You] now have a House where it is more dangerous to be aggressive about honesty than it is to be mildly corrupt. … We have in Wright, [Majority Leader Tom Foley (D-Wash.)] and Coelho a third generation of Democratic leaders, the first that has never served in a minority. … You now have a situation where I think people feel almost invulnerable.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Guess we’ve come full-circle, right Newt?<\/p>\n
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\nThis is truly Republican power gone mad. When their leader gets indicted, they have to change the rules to let him keep his position in order to, in their words, “prevent political manipulation” of the process. I can only imagine how they’re able to keep a straight face while uttering some transparent nonsense.<\/p>\n