QUOTE
EDITORIALS
DeLay Becomes A Liability
April 13, 2005
Conventional wisdom holds that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's ethics problems won't be a problem for the Republican majority in Congress until individual members detect an uptick in questions about the Texas firecracker in their districts. That day may be at hand.
Over the weekend, Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut said the majority leader is hurting Republicans and should resign his leadership post.
On top of past scrapes with the House ethics committee, the indictment in Texas last year of key fund-raisers for Mr. DeLay's political action committee and an investigation of his own conduct by prosecutors, comes new evidence of the majority leader's playing fast and loose with the rules.
Mr. DeLay's wife and daughter reportedly have been paid more than $500,000 since 2001 by his political action and campaign committees for what official disclosure forms described as "fund-raising fees," "campaign management" and "payroll."
Mr. DeLay would not be the first politician to put relatives on the payroll. The payments may be legal, but they fail the smell test. In the words of critics, the majority leader has been running an operation best dubbed as "DeLay Inc."
At the same time, another expenses-paid trip abroad by Mr. DeLay and members of his staff is under scrutiny. This one was a 1997 trip to Russia, reportedly financed by Russian business interests tied to the government in Moscow and U.S. lobbyists. House ethics rules prohibit the acceptance of travel expenses from registered lobbyists and foreign agents.
Two other trips - one to London and Scotland in 2000 and one to South Korea in 2001 - have been under the magnifying glass. They were similarly financed.
The center of all this notoriety denies wrongdoing and says criticism of his ties to lobbyists and his trips is an attack on the conservative movement, "a huge, nationwide, concerted effort to destroy everything we believe in."
A vast left-wing conspiracy, perhaps? Is that why some conservatives and fellow Republicans such as Mr. Shays are also criticizing his conduct?
Like some House leaders before him, Mr. DeLay has grown recklessly audacious as he has accumulated power. His trips, ties to lobbyists and payments to relatives were bound to be scrutinized. He is becoming a liability to his party. Reps. Rob Simmons and Nancy Johnson of Connecticut should join their colleague Mr. Shays in demanding that the majority leader step down.
DeLay Becomes A Liability
April 13, 2005
Conventional wisdom holds that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's ethics problems won't be a problem for the Republican majority in Congress until individual members detect an uptick in questions about the Texas firecracker in their districts. That day may be at hand.
Over the weekend, Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut said the majority leader is hurting Republicans and should resign his leadership post.
On top of past scrapes with the House ethics committee, the indictment in Texas last year of key fund-raisers for Mr. DeLay's political action committee and an investigation of his own conduct by prosecutors, comes new evidence of the majority leader's playing fast and loose with the rules.
Mr. DeLay's wife and daughter reportedly have been paid more than $500,000 since 2001 by his political action and campaign committees for what official disclosure forms described as "fund-raising fees," "campaign management" and "payroll."
Mr. DeLay would not be the first politician to put relatives on the payroll. The payments may be legal, but they fail the smell test. In the words of critics, the majority leader has been running an operation best dubbed as "DeLay Inc."
At the same time, another expenses-paid trip abroad by Mr. DeLay and members of his staff is under scrutiny. This one was a 1997 trip to Russia, reportedly financed by Russian business interests tied to the government in Moscow and U.S. lobbyists. House ethics rules prohibit the acceptance of travel expenses from registered lobbyists and foreign agents.
Two other trips - one to London and Scotland in 2000 and one to South Korea in 2001 - have been under the magnifying glass. They were similarly financed.
The center of all this notoriety denies wrongdoing and says criticism of his ties to lobbyists and his trips is an attack on the conservative movement, "a huge, nationwide, concerted effort to destroy everything we believe in."
A vast left-wing conspiracy, perhaps? Is that why some conservatives and fellow Republicans such as Mr. Shays are also criticizing his conduct?
Like some House leaders before him, Mr. DeLay has grown recklessly audacious as he has accumulated power. His trips, ties to lobbyists and payments to relatives were bound to be scrutinized. He is becoming a liability to his party. Reps. Rob Simmons and Nancy Johnson of Connecticut should join their colleague Mr. Shays in demanding that the majority leader step down.