Tom Delay would understand this, don’t you think? (CNN)
“In the interest of upholding the high ethical standard of the House Democratic Caucus, I am writing to request your immediate resignation from the Ways and Means Committee,” Pelosi wrote.
Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, quickly wrote back that he would not give up his post on the committee.
“With respect, I decline to do so,” he said in his letter.
Polimom can’t help being at least a little bit amused by the various ironies and hypocrisies this little scandal drags into the glaring light of day.
Gotta say, though, that Delay might disagree with this:
He also suggested that the request for his resignation from the important committee was discriminatory, “in as much as no other member currently under federal investigation has been asked to step down from a substantive, legislative committee assignment.”
Discrimination? Dunno about that… but then, if it’s at all related to the Race Card, we’ll likely hear a lot about it soon. I suggest a review with the esteemed Mr. Swift…
So – Here we have an elected official who (according to the FBI) was recorded accepting a $100,000 bribe, $90K of which was found wrapped in his freezer. Since he’s insisting he’s innocent, and Polimom wasn’t actually there (either to hear the recorded conversation or to see what leftovers might be in his freezer), I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.
What I find amusing isn’t what he’s been accused of, but who he’s affiliated with… cuz (of course) he’s a Democrat – the party gleefully poised to pounce on the GOP for its abysmal ethical record (with good reason).
Now, Polimom grew up in Edwin Edwards’ Louisiana, so I’ve always thought that political affiliation has little or no bearing on a person’s ability to resist a bribe. However, since everybody else getting caught with their hand out has been (pretty much) Republican lately, it’s hard not to snicker. (sorry…)
But the irony for the Democrats scarcely holds a candle to the hypocrisy of the Republicans.
As a result of an FBI raid of Rep. Jefferson’s congressional office – something apparently never before done – the Republicans evidently (albeit belatedly) see a problem with how the executive branch of of this administration is using, and interpreting, laws and powers (NY Times):
“This administration,” Dr. Cooper said, “has very systematically and from the beginning acted in a way to interpret its executive powers as broadly as possible and to interpret the power of Congress as narrowly as possible as compared to the executive.”
Some Republicans agreed privately that the search was in line with what they saw as the philosophy of the Justice Department in the Bush administration. They said the department had often pushed the limits on legal interpretations involving issues like the treatment of terrorism detainees and surveillance.
Republicans may have a potential self-interest beyond defending the institutional prerogatives of the legislative branch. With some of the party’s own lawmakers and aides under scrutiny in corruption inquiries tied to the lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the former lawmaker Randy Cunningham, Republicans would no doubt like to head off the possibility of embarrassing searches of their members’ offices.
But lawmakers of both parties said they had no interest in protecting criminal activities or Mr. Jefferson. Their fear, they said, is that the search set a dangerous precedent that could be used by future administrations to intimidate or harass a supposedly coequal branch of the government.
This is just funny (in a “isn’t this government a mess” kind of way…)
Still, gotta find humor where you can these days, right?
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Update: And for those of you who have to peek under the covers on this latest scandal (jeez, it’s just daily these days, eh?), TMV has a much more serious post.