The ITT List
Wednesday Nov 17, 2004 8:36 am
Republicans changing House rules to protect DeLay
With all attention focused on the presidential election, the actions by House Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX.), have slipped under the public radar. Not only is he a right wing religous nut, he was responsible for redistricting Texas in a blatant (and succesful) effort to add five more Republican seats to the House.
For these actions and others he has been admonished by the House ethics committee at least two times and was asked to step down by Democratic leaders and public watchdog groups due to the indictments of three close allies and a possible indictment of DeLay as well.
Now, to protect their swarmy leader, Republicans are attempting to change House rules that would allow DeLay to stay in office even if he is indicted. It looks like they're going to vote on these changes TODAY in a closed door meeting.
It's time to refocus and redouble our efforts to get these slimebags out of office. Click here to find out more about DeLay and what you can do to get him booted.
For these actions and others he has been admonished by the House ethics committee at least two times and was asked to step down by Democratic leaders and public watchdog groups due to the indictments of three close allies and a possible indictment of DeLay as well.
Now, to protect their swarmy leader, Republicans are attempting to change House rules that would allow DeLay to stay in office even if he is indicted. It looks like they're going to vote on these changes TODAY in a closed door meeting.
Supporters of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay proposed a Republican rules change Tuesday that would protect the Texan's leadership position if he were to be indicted by a Texas grand jury that already charged three of his associates.
House Republicans are likely to approve Wednesday the change in the rule that would force him to step aside if indicted. The show of support would be an endorsement of DeLay's position that the Travis County investigation is a partisan attack.
It's time to refocus and redouble our efforts to get these slimebags out of office. Click here to find out more about DeLay and what you can do to get him booted.
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Call a spade a spade. You don’t want him booted. You want him jack-booted. Silenced.
And who came up with that crazy rule in the first place?
House Republicans in 1993—trying to underscore the ethics problems of Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), then-chairman of the Ways and Means Committee—adopted the rule that requires a party leader to surrender his or her post if indicted by any grand jury, federal or state.
Via the DCCC blog: http://blog.dccc.org/mt/archives/001662.html
All I know is no matter how many letters I may send to my (ugh) Republican congressman to call for a stop to this, they’ll either go unanswered or I’ll get some bullshit form letter explaining why we need protection from terrorism.
I didn’t elect these assholes and I don’t want them in, but with Fascism, it’s not about what I want, then is it?
We have a legitimately elected administration with coattails. You may not have voted for the administration Neil but they won the election that you participated in. What you are saying is the only legitimate electoral outcome is the outcome you vote for. That’s Fascism. My way or the highway.
But your favored options were rejected by the majority of Americans. You failed to persuade the majority and you had every opportunity to. Face it. The left sucked this time around. MoveOn.
If Delay is indicted and convicted then the House rules will be moot. It would send a very clear message to all citizens when they keep an indicted politician as their leader.
I’m all for them keeping him as their leader - especially when he is convicted. It would be a beautiful case of stark, naked transparency of Republican values.
Actually, Ronnie Earle is a poster boy for judicial activism bleeding over into the political branches of government. Publicity about Earle’s history of political prosecutions will probably hurt the Democrats more than any fallout from Delay’s circumstances on the Republicans.
Besides, what further message can the citizens get after living through President Clinton’s impeachment and continued presidency?
Reality is going to trump symbolism every time. Ref. Nov. 2nd 2004.
Yes, it is fascism in that manner, but I’m referring to the fascist movement currently overshadowing the Constitutional Democracy we have. I know, in that vein, my previous comment doesn’t make sense.
51% barely counts as a majority.
Yes, the left failed—and I hope we can learn to become more progressive. But I’m not going to take this and I’m not going to quit because that’s the best thing Republicans can hope for. So letting DeLay stay in, in my opinion, lets the Republicans shaft us again.
I’m not sure if your MoveOn comment is a suggestion to join that organization because I’m already a member.
Here are the modern faces of fascism…
http://www.zombietime.com/sf_rally_november_3_2004/
...the jack boots, the intimidation, the violence, and yes, the terrorism. I would bet that a fair number of folks in those pics are also members of MoveOn.
These are the extremists who lost the election for you.
I’m not advocating violence in any way. It’s insane—to protest violence overseas with violence here.
I am for constutionally protected assemblies, peaceful protests and the like. I do see fault on both sides in many cases. But when you do shut out one’s right to peacefully assemble, this can happen.
I don’t believe they lost the election for us—I think it was a number of things far beyond just gathering in the streets. If you look at how most gatherings went—the Republicans made sure the areas were small, restricted and far out of the way, like they did here in Boise. And in some cases, didn’t issue permits.
Fascism exalts nation and sometimes race above the individual, uses violence and modern techniques of propaganda and censorship to forcibly suppress political opposition, engages in severe economic and social regimentation, and espouses nationalism and sometimes racism or ethnic nationalism.
No, we’re not the fascists, here. bush and his flunkies are. To call us that is just laughable—just like believing 51% is a majority.
It’s the jurors who will indict Delay. If the prosecutor had no case against Delay’s staff, the judge would have thrown out the case. I guess the next ‘argument’ will be that the jurors who will indict him are democrat partisan hacks.
The majority of Americans did not vote for Bush. Approximately 26% of voting age Americans did. Let’s not forget that.
Ignore hooligans shouting down dissenters in the streets of America, burning flags and effigies of the President. Ignore legitimate electoral results.
You don’t want to become relevant again. You just want to feel smugly superior. Based on what? Majoritarian acceptance in America? Democratic vindication?
Surely it’s not your fault that you lost the election. It’s not your fault that your ideas didn’t catch on with the majority. No. Some vast right wing conspiracy did it to you.
Yeah that’s the ticket, the vast right wing conspiracy did it. Yeah. Right.
http://www.commerce-database.com/legal-terms/majority.htm
“majority definition ??? a majority is one more than half.”
To the Constitution Is My Bible:
What part of the “free exercise” clause do you not understand? And you need to read John Adams and George Washington on the absolute necessity of the Judeo-Christian faith to the survival of the United States.
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