Ahhh, The DeLay Rule(TPM) Interesting little tidbit....

[hang a left]

Ahhh, The DeLay Rule, truly the muckraker's gift that keeps on giving. The DeLay Rule was the rule House Republicans passed in mid-November 2004 to allow Tom DeLay to stay in charge of the House of Representatives even after he was indicted. The vote itself and the subsequent, slow erosion of support for it turned out to be a good proxy for who in the GOP caucus was a down-the-line DeLay man or woman, wiling to bend pretty much any rule to cover for DeLay and his House machine.

Moderates like Chris Shays were perhaps the most prominent and vocal in their opposition to the Rule. But what opposition their was stretched across ideological lines in the caucus, pulling in a number of the more conservative members. At least conservatives of a certain turn.

So today a friend points out to me that Speaker Denny Hastert has tapped California Rep. David Dreier (R) as his ethics czar, the one who's going to clean the place up and start cranking on a 'lobbying reform' bill.

So where did Dreier come down on The DeLay Rule?

As you'd expect, pretty much a down-the-line DeLay Rule man.

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/

[aquart]

1. Nothing changes till Hastert goes.

Preferably to jail.

[KharmaTrain]

2. Next Step Of Denial

First step was saying DeLay did nothing wrong and how it was a partisan witchhunt. That came to a crashing thud when the ALL REPUGNICAN Texas appeals court turned down the bugman's request to be above the law.

Next came "this scandal isn't really that big"...downplaying anything that came out about Abramoff as nothing but rumors and smearing of Repugnicans...that was until Jumpin' Jack Cash plead guilty and started to name names.

Then came "Democrats did it, too"...confusing Abramoff money with the money donated by Abramoff's clients. Now, if there is gonna be a scandal, the Repugnicans wanted to make sure Democrats go down with them. That appears to be fading as more and more polls are showing this dog isn't hunting and will be totally debunked the moment indictments are handed down to more Repugnican Congresscritters.

Now it's gonna be "the party of reform" bullshit. Yep, David Drier is such a sleuth, a fair judge and honest human being :puke: :sarcasm: and he's gonna clean everything up for Denny. He'll hold private hearings and really get to the bottom of all this mess. That's right, he'll herd the Repugnican caucus into a room...give them a lecture and "poof" ALL CLEAN.

Now why aren't we hearing reports as to why Drier was passed over for bein Party leader when Hastert originally named him and why he isn't running for a leadership slot now? Surely if it were a Democrat with some rumors surrounding his lifestyle, it would have long been put out there and used on him like a battleaxe.

[rodeodance]

3. 'lobbying reform' bill"---I cringe when I see the word 'reform' & repug,