Congressional Democrats pledge reform in Washington

A replay of 1994... Only in our favor


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051006/pl_nm/congress_democrats_dc


Congressional Democrats stepped up attacks on what they called Republicans' "culture of cronyism and corruption" on Thursday, trying to capitalize on a spate of ethics scandals and the Bush administration's heavily criticized response to Hurricane Katrina.

Although congressional elections are still more than a year away, Democratic leaders -- often accused of not being able to articulate a clear party message -- held a series of news events in which they sought to link allegations of corruption and government incompetence.

The fiasco over the response to Hurricane Katrina "sort of pulled up the curtain and exposed the whole mess," said Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record) of New York, who heads up the Democratic election effort for the Senate.

"We as a party are going to be the broom that sweeps things clean."

While declining to make any specific predictions of gains in the November 2006 elections, Illinois Rep. Raum Emanuel, who heads the House Democrats' campaign committee, said the vote would become a national referendum on "change and reform."

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid outlined Democrats' plans to draft legislation to tighten lobbying rules and require people appointed to public safety positions to have relevant credentials and a "superior" track record.

"We're going to reform Washington," Reid said. "After years of Republican scandals and abuses of power, it's a big task. But the American people are demanding change."

Two influential House Democrats, Rep. John Conyers (news, bio, voting record) of Michigan and Rep. George Miller (news, bio, voting record) of California, called for a special counsel to probe the scandal surrounding Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff's possible ties to Justice Department officials.

And House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California and her deputy Rep. Steny Hoyer (news, bio, voting record) of Maryland renewed calls for the House ethics committee to investigate Rep. Tom DeLay, the Texas Republican forced to step down as House majority leader after he was indicted on charges related to campaign financing.

Republicans have also been buffeted by an SEC investigation of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee over a stock sale, the multifaceted probe into Abramoff's activities, and the related arrest this week of former White House aide David Safavian.

why not pledge sooner???

Then, let the real hearings begin.

incompetence is no longer acceptable

Can't wait to see the details. I hope it means they're going to take more aggressive action in Congress to put the brakes on the Repub agenda.

catchy, no?

But don't get your hopes up yet (sorry to be so negative). If the polls shift again or we have any type of national crisis (say a bomb in a baby carriage in NY, for example), the polls might shift back again and John Conyers might once again, be the only voice of truth in the Democratic void.
I mean really- WHERE HAVE THEY BEEN up until this point?

I am so disappointed by my party these days. Not everyone (bless you John Conyers and friends) but of most of them. They know what's going and have for a long while yet it took till now to get a response. Pathetic.

not only do we have to stay united and "on message" with this, but we also have to put out concrete plans to see it through. Additionally, and maybe most importantly, we have to be even more careful to avoid the same kind of bad behavior the Republicans are apparently neck deep in now. Not only the behavior, but even the appearance.

To gain the trust of the public, we'll need to be upright and squeaky clean.

the Bush Regime for war crimes.


Otherwise, it's just sweeping the bad under the rug and calling it clean.
There just is no clean unless the crimes of the Bush Regime are dealt with through the legal system - to include Selection 2000.

I refuse to just let the crimes go to "move on" and "get a fresh start" - how fresh of a start is it when you're dragging the shit around on your heels?

4-5 paragraphs maximum.

Thanks.