The Other Shoe Drops re ethics and Tom Delay

[annabanana]

from a letter from Common Cause:

However, here is the bad news. Unfortunately, Tom DeLay did not walk away empty handed on Tuesday. In all the hubbub created by what didn't happen over the past couple days, we want to be sure you knew that DeLay and his allies were successful pushing through a rule that by itself will likely gut the ethics process in the House.

The Republicans call the change the "presumption of innocence rule." We call it the " party protection act," since no one will be investigated as long as Members vote along party lines. Under the old rule, if the Ethics Committee - a panel of five Republicans and five Democrats - deadlocked along party lines or otherwise, an investigation would automatically be triggered within 45 days. Under the new rule, the complaint is dropped in the event of a deadlock. This will allow either party to "veto" an ethics investigation. The ethics process should be premised on protecting the integrity of the House, not on party politics, party truces, and under the leadership of leaders like Tom DeLay who would violate House rules then try to bend the rules to suit his own political purpose. And this is why it is past time for DeLay to resign.