I'm not seeing this get much attention, but it deserves to.
One of the stories that emerged from the GOP's strong-arm tactics to ram the Medicare bill through the House was that of retiring Rep. Nick Smith, R-MI, who was pressured by his colleagues to change his vote in support of the bill. Rep. Smith's son is one of the candidates to replace him, and some House Republicans threatened to actively oppose the junior Smith in his bid.
From Slate comes the news that another tactic that may have been used to persuade Smith to change his vote took the form of a bribe on the floor of the House of Representatives - by another member of Congress.
The Slate article quotes a
column by Robert Novak in the Chicago Sun-Times about how the GOP passed the Medicare bill:
Smith, self term-limited, is leaving Congress. His lawyer son Brad is one of five Republicans seeking to replace him from a GOP district in Michigan's southern tier. On the House floor, Nick Smith was told business interests would give his son $100,000 in return for his father's vote. When he still declined, fellow Republican House members told him they would make sure Brad Smith never came to Congress. After Nick Smith voted no and the bill passed, Duke Cunningham of California and other Republicans taunted him that his son was dead meat.
Josh Marshall has posted a very pointed letter from Terry McAuliffe to John Ashcroft asking the Justice Department to investigate. After all, what happened on the floor of the House that night is a federal crime, apparently committed by another member of the House.
This is yet another instance of Justice looking the other way at misconduct by Republicans on Capital Hill and in the White House. So much for "honesty and integrity."