That's right--the first House member to break the ethics "truce"
will be Tom DeLay:
Soon-to-retire Rep. Tom DeLay (R.-Tex.) said today he would file an ethics complaint against Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D.-Ga.) for striking a Capitol Police officer should no other House member do so first.
DeLay's comments came during a wide-ranging interview at his Capitol Hill office with reporters, including HUMAN EVENTS Editor Terry Jeffrey.
"If nobody in this House files an ethics charge, I am," DeLay said in response to a question about McKinney. "Her behavior is outrageous. And it's not the only time."
Democrats have really dropped the ball on this one, and not just Democrats in the House leadership. Any House member can file an ethics complaint, but they choose not to. Now, of all people, corrupt and cowardly Tom DeLay is somehow going to seize headlines and file an ethics complaint.
Democrats do not just need to win the House.
As my friend BooMan was telling me last night, they need new blood that will challenge ossified interests and power structures that will remake our own party as well. The class of 1974 was like that.
As BooMan writes:
The Class of 1974 was unique. It did not change the leadership of Congress, but rather, it increased the Democratic majorities and infused the Democratic Party with liberals with a zeal for reform. They threw out some of their own Committee Chairmen, enacted campaign finance reform, did thorough investigations of our intelligence agencies, reopened the investigation of the JFK assassination (and deemed it a conspiracy), and passed the FISA act (the law being flouted by Bush today).
At times it seems like the Bush/Cheney administration has made it their mission to undo all the reforms of the Class of 1974. But, for all the people that are frustrated with or have given up on the Democrats in Washington, the lesson of 1974 is that big electoral gains in 2006 will bring change. Not just a change in the leadership of the Congress, but change in the very nature and makeup and agenda of the Democreatic Party. And that is what we need.
There are a fairly decent number of Representatives who need ethics complaints filed against them. The vast majority of them are Republicans, but a handful of them are Democrats. We need reformed Democrats who are willing to file ethics challenges against all members who deserve it, regardless of party, regardless of media spin, regardless of retribution that would take place within the caucus. And we are not the only ones who need it--the country needs it too. We need candidates that could make 2006 like 1974.
