In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
DeLay is a small minded pity little ex-exterminator who, quite frankly, thinks of Washington as his little toy. That is why I'm so happy that his own actions are coming back to haunt him. He's got 2 little nasty scandles right now, and both prove that the Republican party is quite taken with the idea of abusing power.
Diverting the War on Terrorism
The recent dust-up over Republican attempts to gerrymander the Texas Congressional map had an overlay of old-fashioned political silliness and skulduggery. What is coming to be known as the Tom DeLay Power Perpetuation Act failed famously when more than 50 statehouse Democrats fled to Oklahoma, where they hid out until the bill died, depriving the Republican majority of a quorum. But it turns out that officials in Washington and Austin, desperate to round up the Democrats, made a platoon of Keystone Kops out of federal and state law enforcement agents. That is no laughing matter.
The new Department of Homeland Security was called in on the case as if it were the patronage police and the dissenting Democrats were terrorists. Mr. DeLay's office breathlessly passed along detailed intelligence on the fugitives. More than 1,000 hours were devoted to the two-day search by 54 Texas officers. At least one F.B.I. agent appears to have been involved in the search.
The fact that federal agencies were involved in the partisan squabble is outrageous. Investigators usually assigned to track down terrorists or drug smugglers were sent off to try to find a small plane that had ferried one of the missing Democrats out of Texas. Documents relating to the search were later destroyed — in theory because the search did not involve a crime. Democrats are well within their rights to demand state and federal inquiries.
and
Delving Into Those Donations
SPOKESMEN FOR House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Tex.), Rep. Joe Barton (Tex.), Rep. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (La.) and Sen. Richard C. Shelby (Ala.) steadfastly deny a connection between $56,500 in campaign donations last year from executives of a Kansas-based energy company and the involvement of the four Republican lawmakers in legislation of keen interest to that company. We can understand why aides for the congressmen and senator would issue such denials. It is against the law for members of Congress to promise legislative favors in exchange for political donations. But executives of the firm, Westar Energy Inc., seem to have had a different take on their relationship with the legislators.
As Post writer Thomas B. Edsall reported last week, the Westar executives believed, as is evident from documents disclosed in a federal investigation of the company, that their donations to political groups linked with the four key Republicans would cause Congress to exempt their firm from a federal regulation they regarded as troublesome. Whether the campaign contributions were a quid pro quo for legislative action on a measure sought by Westar should not simply be a subject of debate between press secretaries and the media. Given the political game plan described by Westar executives and the subsequent legislative action that was taken, the matter warrants prompt investigation by the Department of Justice.
- rob 5:38 PM - [PermaLink] -
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