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Tom DeLay should not be re-elected due to lack of ethics
By: Tim Aylsworth
Issue date: 3/29/05 Section: Opinion
Polls following the 2004 election showed that a great deal of President Bush's victory can be attributed to the public siding with him on the basis of ethics. Christian Science Monitor called the recent presidential election, "The most religiously-charged election in decades." Evidently, Americans are passionately concerned with morality. A politician, whose character is deemed questionable, should lose an election to a more upstanding citizen. Ironically, the House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, violated several House rules and was found guilty by the House Ethics Committee prior to being re-elected. Sadly, the story doesn't end there. These three violations can hardly hold a candle to the cloud of unscrupulous muck that has been floating around DeLay and Washington D.C. Voters should not re-elect the majority leader, to prove that Americans require ethical representation.
Texas Rep. Chris Bell filed a 187-page complaint against DeLay that stated, "Mr. DeLay is the most corrupt politician in America today." The charges raised against DeLay include bribery, extortion, fraud, money laundering and the abuse of power. If these allegations are true, every citizen must see that this will not stand. Partisan differences must be cast aside, and the public should condemn this unacceptable behavior.
The three violations released from the House Ethics Committee range from violating fund raising procedures to taking money illegally from lobbyists. One such breach was a golf trip to London. The House prohibits lobbyists from paying for vacations of representatives. This cost-free holiday was funded by a lobbyist. DeLay repudiated these claims by arguing that he had no idea that lobby money funded the trip. That's odd because his friend, the lobbyist, accompanied him on the trip.
According to Time Magazine, DeLay has unapologetic ties to lobbying groups, known in Washington as K Street. A press release from the House furthers the claims that DeLay is corrupt. House Democratic Leader, Nancy Pelosi, D-California, accused DeLay of offering a "quid pro quo" on the Medicare prescription drug bill, misusing the FAA for political purposes and allowing political donations to affect his legislation.
Texas Rep. Chris Bell filed a 187-page complaint against DeLay that stated, "Mr. DeLay is the most corrupt politician in America today." The charges raised against DeLay include bribery, extortion, fraud, money laundering and the abuse of power. If these allegations are true, every citizen must see that this will not stand. Partisan differences must be cast aside, and the public should condemn this unacceptable behavior.
The three violations released from the House Ethics Committee range from violating fund raising procedures to taking money illegally from lobbyists. One such breach was a golf trip to London. The House prohibits lobbyists from paying for vacations of representatives. This cost-free holiday was funded by a lobbyist. DeLay repudiated these claims by arguing that he had no idea that lobby money funded the trip. That's odd because his friend, the lobbyist, accompanied him on the trip.
According to Time Magazine, DeLay has unapologetic ties to lobbying groups, known in Washington as K Street. A press release from the House furthers the claims that DeLay is corrupt. House Democratic Leader, Nancy Pelosi, D-California, accused DeLay of offering a "quid pro quo" on the Medicare prescription drug bill, misusing the FAA for political purposes and allowing political donations to affect his legislation.
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