11/17/2004: 
Criminally Absurd
GOP may change rule to aid DeLay
from SFGate
House Republicans proposed changing their rules Tuesday 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-Texas, in case he is charged by a Texas grand jury that has indicted three of his political associates, according to GOP leaders.
House Republicans adopted the indictment rule in 1993, when they were trying to end four decades of Democratic control of the House, in part by highlighting Democrats' ethical lapses. They said at the time that they held themselves to higher standards than prominent Democrats such as then-Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., who eventually pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was sentenced to prison.
The GOP rule drew little notice until this fall, when DeLay's associates were indicted and Republican lawmakers began to worry their majority leader might be forced to step aside if the grand jury targeted him next.
House Republicans are eager to protect DeLay from an investigation coming from the Texas state capital of Austin that they view as baseless and partisan, said Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., the GOP's chief deputy whip.
Everyday a little bit more of the respect I hold for this country dies as those in power prove to be self-serving whores and criminals who are selling out everything that makes America great. This comes shortly after an election in which the GOP courted the heartland voters with their "moral authority." It is a sad statement that fifty percent of our fellow Americans fell for their duplicity.
