House Votes to Reverse GOP Ethics Rules

1 minute ago Politics - U. S. Congress


By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The House, with grudging Republican support, voted Wednesday to reverse GOP ethics rules that Democrats charged were designed to protect Majority Leader Tom DeLay.


The Republicans heeded Speaker Dennis Hastert's call for a retreat to end a deadlock that has kept the evenly divided ethics panel from functioning. The vote was 406-20, with all votes against the resolution cast by Republicans.


An early job for the committee may be an inquiry into whether a lobbyist financed DeLay's foreign trips in violation of House rules. The majority leader has asked to appear before the panel to clear his name, and told reporters Wednesday he was pulling together travel records going back a decade.


In debate, Democrats continued to attack DeLay's conduct. Republicans countered that they didn't make a mistake but accepted political reality: In a committee with five members of each party, Democrats would not supply any votes to let the committee operate without a reversal of the rules.

~snip~

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=1&u=/ap/20050428/ap_on_go_co/ethics_committee&sid=84439559

Lovely PR it got them.

since the election, have they?

the repugs saying that phrase during the campaign!!!!

who was the Republican that voted present?

DeLay? Hastert?

Anybody got a link to the vote tally?

Thanks!

and the Legislative Branch, Delay remarked "now Republicans can do things they have only DREAMED about." He was not kidding.

This "lust" (as Gore has just termed it, and I do love the way he incorporated that word "lust" into his speech) has propelled them to reach for the Judiciary as well.

There remains no disguise, no pretense, no mask for what these extremists are attempting to do ... and the moderate Republicans were simply foolish for allowing this small minority within their party to behave so radically. After all, it's not just their party this overreaching could destroy, it's our entire country. And they, as well as we, must live here too.

...or does something smell.
The vote was 406-20. I'm surprised the repubs in the house didn't stick up for their guy. My guess is that many of them know one of two things.
1. Something even bigger will come out forcing him to step down.
...or...
2. Nothing else will come out and he will continue on without even a slap on the wrist.

I'm just shocked at the number 406-20. If it were a closer vote, I wouldn't be as suspicious.

--JT

The poll numbers were stinking out the Republicans on the Ethics committee new rules, and Delay's arrogance.

I'd lend more credence to the midterm elections...but that much of a change makes me wonder.

:banghead:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/28/politics/28ethics.html?th&emc=th">http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/28/politics/28ethics.html?th&emc=th

"WASHINGTON, April 27 - In a rare retreat, the Republican-led House on Wednesday overturned contentious rule changes made to the House ethics process, with Republicans saying they surrendered to the Democrats to try to restore a way to enforce proper conduct in the House.

'I am willing to step back,' said Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois"

-snip-

"One of the most immediate effects of the House's reverting to the old rules will be the opening of an investigation into persistent questions about Mr. DeLay's overseas travel and his relationships with prominent lobbyists. His fund-raising operations are under investigation by a grand jury in Texas, and some of the lobbyists' roles have come under increasing scrutiny by federal investigators in recent months."

looks like they're finally coming around ...

NAIL the hammer!

...impeached by the house.

Man, if that ain't a kiss-off, I don't know what is.