[North-NV-Greens] Fwd: Good News and Bad News on Ethics Rule Change

[Paul Etxeberri]

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>  Dear Paul ,
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>We have some good news and bad news concerning the recent attempts 
>by the House leadership to lax congressional ethics rules.  First, 
>the good news.  On Tuesday, the first day of the 109th Congress, 
>the <http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M66650706524439710829065>leadership 
>backed away from highly partisan plans to implement new rules aimed 
>at protecting Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) from being forced to 
>resign as Majority Leader and undermining the exact rule under which 
>he was admonished under three times by the Ethics Committee last 
>Fall.  DeLay and his allies wanted to ensure 
><http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M66650716524439710829065>he could 
>keep his job if he is indicted in Texas for fund raising 
>irregularities as some expect.  
>
>No doubt  
><http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M66650746524439710829065>the 
>retreat was due to your activism and a realization by the leadership 
>that the Republican rank and file resented having to walk the plank 
>to protect Majority Leader DeLay's bad behavior.  We welcome the 
>reversal and congratulate everyone who took action on this issue 
>because without public scrutiny and pressure, Tom DeLay would have 
>been successful in rigging the ethics process in America's most 
>sacred institution to accommodate his personal ethical crisis.
>
>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 
>"<http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M66650776524439710829065>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:
>
><http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M66650816524439710829065>www.commoncause.org/stepdownDeLay<http://www.commoncause.org/stepdownDeLay>  
>
>While DeLay was unsuccessful in his effort to make broad ethics rule 
>changes, his brazen attempt to put himself above the law is just 
>another indication 
>of <http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M66650886524439710829065>why he 
>needs to step down.  If you have not done so already please make 
>sure to sign the petition calling for Tom DeLay's resignation as 
>Majority Leader:
>
><http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M66650846524439710829065>www.commoncause.org/stepdownDeLay<http://www.commoncause.org/stepdownDeLay>
>
>If you have signed 
>it, <http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M66650946524439710829065>make 
>sure to forward this message to friends and family.  We currently 
>have more than 41,000 signatures and have a goal of 100,000 before 
>we will deliver the petitions to DeLay's office.
>
>Thank you again for all you do for Common Cause.
>
>Sincerely,
>Chellie Pingree
>President & CEO, Common Cause
>
>Support Common Cause:
><http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M66650976524439710829065>www.commoncause.org/support
>
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>To remove yourself from this mailing, please click 
><http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID=M66652116524439710829065>here


-- 
Paul Etxeberri

"Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow"   ---Chateaubriand
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