Courier-Journal : : Tom DeLay's Jihad
More about Tom DeLay's little crusade against common sense:
What Rep. DeLay is attempting to do is to inflame religious passions to further his reckless and destructive assault on the courts. He argued at the conference that federal courts have "run amok" largely because Congress has failed to control them. He said the proper response "is to reassert (Congress') constitutional authority over the courts."
But Congress doesn't have that authority, beyond narrowly defined roles such as Senate confirmation of federal judges and impeachment powers in the case of criminal behavior. Otherwise, judicial independence is a cornerstone of the constitutional separation of powers that defines the American system of checks and balances. Conservatives should understand that.
For more about Tom DeLay's most recent scandals, look here.
What Rep. DeLay is attempting to do is to inflame religious passions to further his reckless and destructive assault on the courts. He argued at the conference that federal courts have "run amok" largely because Congress has failed to control them. He said the proper response "is to reassert (Congress') constitutional authority over the courts."
But Congress doesn't have that authority, beyond narrowly defined roles such as Senate confirmation of federal judges and impeachment powers in the case of criminal behavior. Otherwise, judicial independence is a cornerstone of the constitutional separation of powers that defines the American system of checks and balances. Conservatives should understand that.
For more about Tom DeLay's most recent scandals, look here.
posted by Management at 7:44 PM
2 Comments:
Tom DeLay's jihad
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has made a feeble effort to cover his flanks.
In a speech last week, the Texas Republican momentarily toned down his open-ended threats to hold judges "accountable" and his veiled threats of impeachment. He characterized the exercise as one joined by Americans of many perspectives, "a legitimate debate by people of good will trying to clarify the proper constitutional role of courts."
No one should believe him, and not just because the Constitution itself clarifies the constitutional role of courts.
The needlessly inflammatory and divisive name of the conference at which he spoke (one he helped organize) is revealing: "Confronting the Judicial War on Faith." There is no such war -- no evidence whatsoever that any court has set out to curb the rights of citizens to worship freely.
What Rep. DeLay is attempting to do is to inflame religious passions to further his reckless and destructive assault on the courts. He argued at the conference that federal courts have "run amok" largely because Congress has failed to control them. He said the proper response "is to reassert (Congress') constitutional authority over the courts."
But Congress doesn't have that authority, beyond narrowly defined roles such as Senate confirmation of federal judges and impeachment powers in the case of criminal behavior. Otherwise, judicial independence is a cornerstone of the constitutional separation of powers that defines the American system of checks and balances. Conservatives should understand that.
Rep. DeLay's rhetoric is having the predictable effect.
For example, Michael Schwartz, chief of staff to Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., whose anti-abortion views can only be described as sheer lunacy, said "mass impeachment" might be needed. He added his hope that federal judges who ruled in the recent Schiavo case "serve long sentences."
The nation's leading conservative jurist, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, has been sharply critical, and he emphasizes, "A judge's judicial acts may not serve as a basis for impeachment."
Conservative politicians ought to speak up and show the same clear-headed courage.
DELAY'S RECENT RAP SHEET
A Foreign Agent Paid for a Luxury Trip to South Korea for DeLay and his wife. The trip was paid for by the Korea-US Exchange Council. The group registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act and was created with help from a lobbying firm headed by DeLay's former chief of staff. The cost to send DeLay, his wife and other lawmakers for three days was $106,921. (Washington Post, 3/10/05)
DeLay Received Campaign Contributions from Executives at Westar Energy, to Give the Company "a Seat at the Table" at Energy Bill Negotiations. The House Ethics Committee admonished DeLay for his dealings with top officers of Westar Energy. Some of the officers wrote memos citing their belief that $56,500 in campaign contributions to political committees associated with DeLay and other Republicans would get them "a seat at the table" where key legislation was being drafted. (Washington Post, 10/7/04)
DeLay Allegedly Offered $100,000 in Campaign Contributions to a Fellow Congressman's Son in Exchange for a Vote in favor of the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill. The House ethics committee found that DeLay offered to help former Congressman Nick Smith's son Brad, who was running for Congress at the time, in exchange for Smith's vote on the Medicare prescription drug bill. The House Ethics Committee gave DeLay a public admonishment. Smith originally claimed that DeLay mentioned $100,000 in contributions, but later stated that no specific figure was mentioned. (Roll Call, 11/22/04)
DeLay Used a Federal Agency for Partisan Politics, an action prohibited by House Standards of Official Conduct. On May 12, 2003 DeLay's office asked the FAA for assistance in locating an aircraft carrying Texas state legislators. (Summary of Complaint Against Rep. Tom DeLay Filed By Chris Bell, 6/8/04) The House Ethics Committee admonished DeLay, stating "Your intervention in a partisan conflict in the Texas House of Representatives…raises serious concerns under House standards…that preclude use of government resources for a political undertaking." (National Journal Congress Daily, 10/7/04)
DeLay Associates Charged with Illegal Money Laundering. Three of DeLay's top political associates were indicted by a Texas grand jury on charges of illegally raising money from corporations and funneling the funds into the campaigns of GOP candidates for the Texas Legislature (CQ Today, 3/11/05).
DeLay Allegedly Used $190,000 in Illegal Corporate Contributions to Influence Elections. According to a complaint filed by former Congressman Chris Bell (D-Tex.), a state PAC managed by DeLay aide Jim Ellis, contributed $190,000 in illegal corporate funds to the RNC. (Summary of Complaint Against Rep. Tom DeLay Filed By Chris Bell, 6/8/04).
The GOP Leadership Stacked the House Ethics Committee with Members Sympathetic to DeLay. Ethics committee Chairman, Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.), was replaced by Rep. Richard Hastings (R-Wash.), a trusted ally of House Speaker Dennis Hastert. The other new Republicans on the panel, Reps. Lamar Smith (R–Tex.) and Tom Cole (R–Okla.), each gave DeLay $5,000 for his legal defense fund. These new committee members can be trusted to view DeLay's behavior in a more charitable light. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 2/7/05; Houston Chronicle, 2/7/05)
Two months after Gambling Interests Paid for DeLay's Luxury Trip to Europe, He Helped Kill a Bill that the Funders of his London Junket Opposed. The cost of the trip totaled $4,285.35. The payment was funneled through lobbyist Jack Abramoff. (Washington Post, 3/1/05) Abramoff suggested the trip and then arranged for checks to be sent by two of his clients, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and eLottery Inc. Two months after the trip, DeLay helped kill the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, which would have made it a federal crime to place certain bets over the Internet and was opposed by eLottery and the Choctaws. (Washington Post, 3/12/05)
To serve his own self interest, DeLay Muscled House Republicans into Abandoning a Rule that "Required Leaders to Step Aside Temporarily if Indicted." The rule required GOP leaders and committee chairmen charged with a felony to relinquish their positions. (Associated Press, 11/18/04) This rule was later overturned.
Post a Comment
<< Home