[Mb-civic] NYTimes.com Article: House G.O.P. Acts to Protect Chief

[michael at intrafi.com]

The article below from NYTimes.com 
has been sent to you by michael at intrafi.com.



/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\

SIDEWAYS - NOW PLAYING IN SELECT CITIES

An official selection of the New York Film Festival and the
Toronto International Film Festival, SIDEWAYS is the new
comedy from Alexander Payne, director of ELECTION and ABOUT
SCHMIDT.  Starring Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church,
Sandra Oh and Virginia Madsen. Watch the trailer at:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/sideways/index_nyt.html

\----------------------------------------------------------/


House G.O.P. Acts to Protect Chief

November 18, 2004
 By CARL HULSE 



 

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 - Spurred by an investigation connected
to the majority leader, House Republicans voted Wednesday
to abandon an 11-year-old party rule that required a member
of their leadership to step aside temporarily if indicted. 

Meeting behind closed doors, the lawmakers agreed that a
party steering committee would review any indictments
handed up against the majority leader, Representative Tom
DeLay of Texas, or any other members of the leadership team
or committee chairmen, to determine if giving up a post was
warranted. The revision does not change the requirement
that leaders step down if convicted. 

The new rule was adopted by voice vote. Its chief author,
Representative Henry Bonilla of Texas, said later that only
a handful of members had opposed it. 

The Republicans' old rule was adopted in August 1993 to put
a spotlight on the legal troubles of prominent Democrats.
Mr. Bonilla said revising it had been necessary to prevent
politically inspired criminal investigations by "crackpot"
prosecutors from determining the fate of top Republicans. 

"Attorneys tell me you can be indicted for just about
anything in this country, in any county or community," said
Mr. Bonilla, an ally of Mr. DeLay. "Sometimes district
attorneys who might have partisan agendas or want to read
their name in the paper could make a name for themselves by
indicting a member of the leadership, regardless of who it
may be, and therefore determine their future. And that's
not right." 

Mr. DeLay said he had not instigated the change. But he
applauded it nevertheless, saying it could deprive
"political hacks" of an ability to influence the makeup of
the Republican leadership. 

Republican lawmakers "fixed the rules so that Democrats
cannot use our rules against us," he said. 

Mr. DeLay said he did not expect to be indicted, but added,
"This has nothing to do with whether I was going to be or
not going to be.'' 

The comments of Mr. DeLay and Mr. Bonilla were clearly
directed at Ronnie Earle, the district attorney in Travis
County, Tex., including Austin, who won indictments earlier
this year against three political associates of the
majority leader. The investigation by Mr. Earle, a
Democrat, involves charges of illegally using corporate
money to help Republicans win state legislative races in
2002. Those Republican victories in turn gave the state
party enough legislative muscle to win redistricting
changes that helped Congressional Republicans gain five
additional seats in Texas on Nov. 2. 

Despite the indictments of his associates, Mr. DeLay has
not been called to testify, and Mr. Earle has not said
whether the congressman is a target. 

Not all Republicans agreed with Wednesday's rule change,
which was adopted after some two and a half hours of
debate. 

"This is a mistake," said Representative Christopher Shays
of Connecticut. 

When the Republicans gained control of the House in the
elections of 1994, "we were going to be different,'' Mr.
Shays said. 

But "every time we start to water down what we did in '94,"
he said, "we are basically saying the revolution is losing
its character." 

Democrats and outside watchdogs bitterly criticized the
change. 

"Today Republicans sold their collective soul to maintain
their grip on power," said Representative Steny H. Hoyer of
Maryland, the Democratic whip. "They unabashedly abandoned
any pretense of holding themselves to a high ethical
standard, by deciding to ignore criminal indictments of
their leaders as reason for removal from leadership posts
in the Republican Party." 

Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, a group that
follows campaign finance issues, said: "With this decision,
we have gone from DeLay being judged by his peers to DeLay
being judged by his buddies. It's an absurd and ludicrous
new rule and an affront to the American people." 

Republicans said Democrats had no standing to criticize
them, since House Democratic rules have no provision to
remove indicted party leaders, though they do require
indicted committee chairmen to step aside. The minority
leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, said
Wednesday that her party would quickly expand the provision
to cover leadership posts as well. 

"Republicans have reached a new low," Ms. Pelosi said. "It
is absolutely mind-boggling that as their first order of
business following the elections, House Republicans have
lowered the ethical standards for their leaders." 

The change follows two admonitions that Mr. DeLay received
from the bipartisan House ethics committee this fall, one
involving a House floor vote, the other a fund-raiser. Mr.
DeLay has built strong loyalty in the House over the years
by helping raise campaign money and paying close attention
to the personal legislative interests of Republican
lawmakers, and the ethics committee's action angered some
of his supporters in the chamber. 

Mr. DeLay and many other House Republicans have criticized
Mr. Earle's inquiry as highly partisan. "Ronnie Earle is
trying to criminalize politics," Mr. DeLay said. "I think
that is wrong." 

Mr. Earle, in a statement issued by his office, said the
Republican rule change would have no effect on the
continuing investigation. But he added, "It should be
alarming to the public to see their leaders substitute
their judgment for that of the law enforcement process." 

House Republicans did not dispute the idea that the change
had been brought on by the events in Texas but said most of
the majority's lawmakers had also concluded that the rule
was simply unfair. 

"In my sincere opinion, it only provoked the timing" of the
change, Representative Trent Franks of Arizona said of the
Texas inquiry. "When you look at the rule, it is an
outrageous rule." 

The new rule says that upon the return of an indictment
against a committee chairman, a subcommittee chairman or a
party leader, a steering committee made up of House leaders
other than the accused lawmaker will have 30 days to
recommend to the full Republican conference "what action,
if any, the conference shall take concerning said member." 

Though the change had been a subject of discussion for the
last week, it was not submitted by Mr. Bonilla until right
before a Tuesday deadline that Republicans had set to offer
proposals for rules in the new Congress. Mr. Bonilla and
others said the Republican conference, including many
members elected only two weeks ago, had been insistent on
the revision. 

"It is the right thing to do," said Representative John
Carter of Texas, a former judge. 

While House Republicans were acting on the rule, Congress
continued its reorganization for 2005. House Democrats and
Senate Republicans re-elected their leadership teams for
the most part. In the only real race, Senator Elizabeth
Dole of North Carolina gained a one-vote victory over
Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota to head the National
Republican Senatorial Committee, which provides guidance
and money for Republican candidates. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/18/politics/18house.html?ex=1101788870&ei=1&en=85324f692a56d36a


---------------------------------

Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine
reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like!
Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy
now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here:

http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/SubscriptionT1.do?mode=SubscriptionT1&ExternalMediaCode=W24AF



HOW TO ADVERTISE
---------------------------------
For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters 
or other creative advertising opportunities with The 
New York Times on the Web, please contact
onlinesales at nytimes.com or visit our online media 
kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo

For general information about NYTimes.com, write to 
help at nytimes.com.  

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company