Want's Congress to have... you know... ethics! (via Politico)
Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio resolved this morning that the way Democrats passed the ethics bill last night was unethical. This afternoon he resolved that the House should investigate Rep. David Obey (D-Wisc.) for unethical behavior. In between those privileged resolutions, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) resolved, using a "point of personal privilege," that it was wrong for Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-Ohio) to challenge his ethics. And all before the newly approved Office of Congressional Ethics has even had its ribbon cut.
Let it be resolved that the resolution be resolved on the floor with objections to the resolutions!
For that, Hastings should seek a job at the Department of Redundancy Department. The political drama must have been fascinating to the gallery. Hastings, brought forward staff complaints about rule changes that would create outside oversight of House ethics functions. Something that would be unecessary had so many issues not been "Delay-ed" during Doc Hastings' tenure as chair of that committee. Despite those realities, Ray LaHood jumped in to defend Hastings' reputation.
Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.)--long known as a voice of moderation-- took equal offense to Tubbs Jones. "You know, there's a saying where I come from, once you tar and feather someone, you can never get the tar off. What happened here with disclosure of this letter made public in Doc's district is that he will always have a little bit of this tar on him that somehow he might have violated the rules. That's wrong, folks. What good is it for us to trash one another?" he asked.
Tubbs Jones tried to interject. "Will the gentleman yield?"
The gentleman wouldn’t.
"I don’t have the time, ma'am," LaHood said. "But I’ll tell you this -- I believe that the chairwoman of the Ethics Committee owes Doc Hastings an apology for trying to besmirch and impugn his integrity and his honesty and his service on the Ethics Committee and in the House of Representatives. Now, you know, if the chairwoman, Mr. Speaker, would be willing to do that, it might get on page 40 of his local newspaper. It won't be on page one, the way the headlines read today," he went on.
I guess my "little opinion in Eastern Washington" (McCranium.org) is page 40... I haven't heard boo out of local press.
But it is exactly that reputation that puts Hastings in the position. And it seems Democrats aren't looking to have that memory fade from the public consciousness. And in a twist of irony, a vote on the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (Formally House Ethics Committee) to have secondary oversight was held over 16 minutes against procedural rules to gain more support. Hastings was largely credited for holding open voting for 3 additional hours of tough arm-twisting during the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit vote in 2003.
Much has been made of Hastings mischief as ethics chair by organizations and former candidates. The problem has always been that in his district, it is largely ignored by the press and opponents have had a difficulties fundraising to spread that message. Top that off with the fact that some folks either don't understand the serious implications Hastings' actions on the committee had to the overall health and function of the pre-2006 US Congress. Others were simply still too raptured with the Bush agenda of War and fear-mongering to recognize that the Jack Abramhoff, Tom Delay and other scandals were glaring symptoms of the breakdown of ethics for which their congressman's role was paramount. It wasn't until the Mark Foley scandal broke that the deadlock over ethics was briefly busted loose under the republican controlled congress. Now, with a new chair, it's getting oversight and the rules of play will likely change for the better.
Hastings' opponent isn't playing shy about Doc's recent political drama show on the house floor. George Fearing's campaign quickly spoke out on the issue (click to see press release).
Previous worries about getting the message out in Washington's 4th CD are starting to fade as it is rumored the Fearing Campaign will cross the 100K mark in fundraising by the end of March or sooner. All from individual donors. This could really be a race to get excited about.
(Crossposted on mccranium.org)