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December 31, 2004
RED STATE VALUES IN ACTION
Lest there be any doubt about what the "moral values" of the red states and the Republican Party really are, here's a piece from the Washington Post about how the Republicans have basically lapsed on every ethical rule that might actually affect a member of the Republican Party. Among the "highlights" of the actions by the party of "values" are:
Last month, Republicans in the House scrapped an 11-year-old rule requiring party leaders to step aside if they are indicted, allowing Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) to keep his job if a state grand jury indicts him in its probe into alleged illegal corporate political donations...
On Dec. 15, former House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.) took a job as top lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry. Tauzin and another prominent House member had negotiated jobs for themselves while heading panels responsible for legislation that affected the lawmakers' prospective employers...
The Department of Health and Human Services granted a waiver to a top administration official so he could negotiate a job for himself even while working on legislation that could benefit prospective employers. Meanwhile, a Pentagon civilian official arranged a favorable contract for Boeing Co. before taking a job with the aerospace manufacturer...
The Office of Government Ethics has proposed, and Bush supports, legislation to ease financial disclosure requirements for government officials, reducing the amount of conflict-of-interest information that candidates and their families must report. The House recently passed a version of the legislation...
Similarly, Rep. James C. Greenwood (R-Pa.), being recruited by the Biotechnology Industry Organization this summer, canceled a committee hearing he was to chair on the safety of antidepressants. Greenwood will become president of the biotechnology trade group next month...
Several experts in the government workforce agree that the problem goes beyond ethical reporting standards and say the source is the growing influence of money in politics. "I don't think the amount of rules and regulations are helping," said Paul C. Light of the Brookings Institution. "A lot of people meet the rules but do not aspire to politically ethical conduct... There is this sense that if Tom DeLay can get away with it, so can I."
Make no mistake, kids. This is the Republican Party in all its glory. Graft, influence peddling, and protecting felons who happen to be in office and happen to be powerful Republicans. Red state values in action, my friends.
