GOP Helping Pelosi keep HER Promise (1 Viewer)

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http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/051106/news3.html

Freshman Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry (N.C.) wants to help House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — well, sort of.

McHenry has prepared an ethics complaint for Pelosi to file against a fellow Democratic lawmaker, Rep. William Jefferson (La.), who is under investigation by the Justice Department for allegedly having received more than $450,000 in bribes.

“We’re taking paperwork off her desk — who doesn’t appreciate that?” quipped McHenry, who plans to send the complaint to Pelosi today. McHenry was spurred to produce the complaint after Pelosi said last week that she thinks the House ethics committee should investigate the Louisianan.

“In the spirit of fairness and bipartisanship, we’re helping her keep the promise she made on [NBC’s] ‘Meet the Press’ to request an ethics committee investigation of Jefferson,” McHenry said.

“You only need to sign and notarize the letter prior to submission for the complaint to be official,” McHenry wrote to Pelosi in a letter accompanying the complaint. He ended the missive with a tongue-in-check flourish: “It is always refreshing to see a member go beyond rhetoric and take action when the situation warrants.”

While Democrats do have several liabilities on the ethics front — most notably Jefferson and Rep. Alan Mollohan (W.Va.), who recently stepped down as the ethics committee’s ranking Democrat after coming under fire for his real-estate dealings — Republicans have had more to worry about, with former House Majority Leader DeLay being forced to resign his leadership post under an ethics cloud and Ney under federal investigation. (Almost all charges on DeLay, BTW, have been thrown out – the Indictment of DeLay, the 13th filed before finally getting one to stick in order to take down DeLay by taking advantage of the GOP’s policy of their stepping down if indicted for anything.)

In the midst of the battle over ethics, McHenry has often taken the role of attack dog in chief for House Republicans, issuing stinging critiques of Democrats and pursuing the opposing party with vigor rarely matched by his more accommodating colleagues.

Last month, the 30-year-old co-wrote a resolution commending the service of the U.S. Capitol Police force just days after Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) engaged in a much-publicized tussle with an officer at a Capitol Hill security checkpoint. The resolution fueled the flames of the negative press the incident was drawing to Democrats.

Last November, he rallied his colleagues to send a letter to Pelosi questioning Democrats’ ethical standards.

In June of last year, he took aim at Pelosi for having discussed a potential primary challenge to Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) in her Capitol Hill offices, a possible violation of House ethics rules. [/B]

The ball is in Ms. Pelosi's court, but something tells me she will NOT keep her promise!

Ms. Pelosi was the one who filed ethics charges against Tom DeLay, accusing him of going on a trip paid for by Lobbyists....treid him in the court of public opinion yet refused to let the ethics comittee meet to give him his fair trail. Her accusation sparked a Senate-wide investigation into lobbyist-funded tript, and...surprise, surprise....revealed that numerous Democrats had done the exact same thing....the number one 'violator' being NANCY PELOSI! None of the politicians were punished, however, as they were all granted the opportunity to 'ammend' ('doctor') and refile their travel vouchers if Pelosi withdrew her etchis violation charge against DeLay....which she did.

Now the leading violator of the ethics rule forbidding trips paid for by lobbyists, violator of discussing a potential primary challenge to Rep. Bennie Thompson, and hypocritical author of the 'culture of corruption' BS quote, has NOW sworn to uphold the ethics of our politicians! She ought to thank Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry for helping her keep that promise! :applaud :thanks:

 

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She better treat members equally on these kind of issues--no matter what their political affiliation is. I HATE how the republicans changed the rules so that wittle Tom DeWay wouldn't have to step down from his position. Give me a break.

It sounds like Jefferson has behaved unethically, and he should suffer the consequences of his actions.

 

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I HATE how the republicans changed the rules so that wittle Tom DeWay wouldn't have to step down from his position. Give me a break.

WHAT are you talking about? DeLay stepped down from his position a long time ago.

The Republicans, in an effort to police themselves and maintain their integrity, came up with a GOP rule that called for any member of the GOP to relinquish their position while under indictment, believing that any such person would be too distracted to fulfill their responsibilities.

You think the Democrats would be willing to impose such a strict rule on themselves? NO WAY! (Especially with how many of them are usually indicted at any given time!:rofl :doh Oh come on, its a joke!)

What isn't a joke though it the fact that the Democrats saw that GOP rule as an easy opportunity to take down a GOP leader without having to have anything worthwile on him, without having to have the member in question even be guilty of anything! 13 filed indictments later, and the politically motivated DA who had publicly bragged for years that he would 'bag DeLay' finally found a judge who would uphold one of the 13 indictments!

All the Democrats needed to have an inquisition and to remove DeLay was an Indictment, even a lame/weak one for the GOP's own rule to take effect and finish off what the Dems had started. As soon as the indictment was filed, the Dems began their trial in the court of public opinion, demonstrating exactly what they thought of the concept of 'innocent until proven guilty'.

You can argue all you want about how the indictment and charges were legit....but the fact is that the charges have all but been kicked out on this political assasination hit on DeLay. Doesn't matter - he is done politically, as the hit has done what it was intended to do.

So don't start talking baout how the GOP has possibly had to change their self-imposed rules in order to protect them selves from the Democrats who have tried to use them against the GOP. At least the GOP was willing to impose certain codes on themselves in the 1st place - the Democrats never have done such a thing and never will for fear of the GOP doing to them exactly what they did to DeLay!

 

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I'm talking about this:

GOP Pushes Rule Change to Protect DeLay's Post

By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 17, 2004; Page A01

House Republicans proposed changing their rules last night to allow members indicted by state grand juries to remain in a leadership post, a move that would benefit Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) in case he is charged by a Texas grand jury that has indicted three of his political associates, according to GOP leaders.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54572-2004Nov16.html

The only reason they rolled back the changes was because of the outcry it caused, and even from former GOPers. Now that is what I call the pinnacle of ethics (NOT).

 

[easyt65]

I'm talking about this:



The only reason they rolled back the changes was because of the outcry it caused, and even from former GOPers. Now that is what I call the pinnacle of ethics (NOT).

Like I said, the DNC never had the b@lls to inact any rule to try to police its own from unethical behavior, and the GOP had to eliminate a self-imposed ruled that the DNC had begun taking advantage of in order to eliminate GOP Reps. All the DNC had to do while that rule is/was in effect is/was to get any indictment on a GOP Rep for any reason, and they (the GOP Reps) were bound by their own rule to step aside. The DeLay case was the prime example - it took 13 indictments, but the rabid liberals finally got their man!