Asymmetrical Information

As you point out, Jane... the left's credibility is strained on this stuff at least. Their track record on this kind of stuff is, in fact, abysmal. We've heard cries of 'wolf' from these people for far too long to take them seriously now. Add that to what they have to gain by this action... gains they're flat out desperate to make.... and well, you get the idea.

The stated concern about principles... particularly by many Libertarians of the last week or two, is quite valid, and I do not discount it; but we've been lied to, too often before.... and you can only properly apply those principles when all the facts are in... and there are many who seem willing to ignore the track record of those making the charges.

To which of the many DeLay related scandals are you referring? The only one I know of the Democrats are NOT actively pursuing is the question of whether it's appropriate for DeLay to have hired his wife and daughter to work on his campaigns.

Shorter Jane: "As to DeLay, I'm not on the train, I'm not off the train. I am perched in the doorway, with one foot touching the concrete curb." To be fair, it's probably the optimal place to be until Republican opinion firms up and it's clearer which way to jump.

Tim, can you read? I'm calling for DeLay to go. 'm just not doing the daily blow-by-blow because I don't particularly care. You know, if you're a jerk when conservatives agree with you, you're not exactly encouraging cooperation.

One would think knowing the fact and whether they conflict with any rules or laws is necessary before assigning culpability and calling for punishment.

I think you've got the dynamics of this issue nailed Jane. First there is your linked reference, then I have this which I found the other day (sorry, no link available):

-- The Los Angeles Times correctly notes that numerous members of Congress have family members on the payroll. But Harry Reid truly leads by example. In the words of the LAT:

“Harry Reid is in a class by himself. One of his sons and his son-in-law lobby in Washington for companies, trade groups and municipalities seeking Reid's help in the Senate. A second son has lobbied in Nevada for some of those same interests, and a third has represented a couple of them as a litigator.”

“In the last four years alone, their firms have collected more than $2 million in lobbying fees from special interests that were represented by the kids and helped by the senator in Washington.”

“So pervasive are the ties among Reid, members of his family and Nevada's leading industries and institutions that it's difficult to find a significant field in which such a relationship does not exist.” --

You know, when you go to Vegas and stay at one of the better hotels and you realize that a GREAT room only costs about $130/night or so, it dawns on you that they must be making their money somewhere else. :)

Likewise all our Congress Folk who live relatively lavish lifestyles on comparatively modest salaries. Those expensive shoes, suits, and homes have to be paid for somehow.

From what I've seen, the Democrats are all over DeLay.

I think part of the issue is that Democrats don't control the MSM and they don't control the echo chamber. You're not hearing about it as much as if Republicans were going after a Democratic congressperson.

So you're not sure exactly what he did or did not do...but you are sure he should resign because of what he did do.

If and only if A, then B. But you don't know if A happened. So B should happen anyway.

Is there a name for this logical fallacy?

Bernie Sanders isn't a Democrat is he?

But that's beside the point. Most Democrats, hopefully, are giving DeLay the kid gloves because they have the sense to realize that he is a liability for the GOP. He is a very unactractive face for the party, the corruption stuff is only icing. Smart Republicans realize this and are distancing themselves from him - JG, David Brooks ect. Smart Democrats realize this too, 2006 will be much more difficult for DEms nationwide if somhow DeLay goes down.

I haven't really been following the Tom DeLay scandals, but given how easy it is to make accusations and how easy it is to find rules violations in Congress, I'm not sure that the existence of a scandal and/or accusations is a sufficient reason to resign. If it were, than either party could force anyone's resignation by manufacturing a scandal and pointing fingers.

I happen to like the fact that he fought so hard against the Houston Metro Rail program.

It seems to me that the Dems are going after Delay. Perhaps not as vehemently as Newt Gingrich and Co. went after Jim Wright, but they are pursuing this. This kind of thing is usually left to the backbenchers, which is way you probably get more muted criticisms from people like Pelosi and Hoyer.
As for Democratic concerns about exposing their own corruption, there may be some truth to that, but I doubt that its a major deterrant to attacking Delay. In general, its the party in power that has more to lose when the focus is on ethics. Since the Dems don't have much going for them in the House anyway, it makes sense for them to take their chances on these ethical issues.

Delay is the guy the Dems FEAR because he gets things done in the house, having him gone would make things easier for them.
SOO it seems they they have an axe to grind. Of course they are as always, hypocrites. The Dems "holier-than-thou ethics" complaints could be applied to each and every one of them and they would mostly come up with egg on their faces.

There was a very interesting interview with DeLay in the Washington Times this morning which explains why the dems and their lackeys at the NY Times and the WAPO etc want to get rid of him -- he is effective, he beats them and they HATE it.
Sore Losers.

The Repudiation Continues-- Eason Jordan resigns in disgrace, LA times looses GM advertising, NY Times gets caught creating onesided "News" stories ala Columbia University.

Jane you are spending too much time trying to spell like a Brit, it gets old after the first time. Why opine on a subject you profess not knowing much about?

"The Republican leadership would do well to be rid of him, both because he lacks the moral authority to hold a leadership position and because leaving him in place makes them look bad."

The dems would love to see that happen, and just what immoral things has Mr DeLay done?
How does getting their legislation passed make them look bad/
Who is it going to look bad to -- The Dems? Screw them they lost.

I agree with the daddy on keeping Delay. I like Delay right where he is. The reps are splitting into two factions, the hysterical evangelicals best represented by the Delays and W's, and the traditional anything for a tax cut, social almost liberal represented by Mccain and Arnie. It will be interesting to see how the reps handle this, but I expect Delay to be done as majority leader if the reps act as they did with Newtie and the blink of Livingston and yank him from leadership.

I think the Reid example is very different from Delay and Sanders. Delay and Sanders directly paid family members, while Reid at least had a middle man. I don't think the dems need to touch this issue, they should just step back, hope for a slow news week, and let the media handle Delay.

When it comes to ethics charges like these, no one wants to open their glass door and start the stone-throwing competition.

Yet another drawback of the two-party oligarchy.

I agree with Jane!

Bernie Sanders should resign his leadership position in the Democratic Party right away!

But I lack the time or interest to investigate the various charges against him, so that's all I'll say on the matter.

Here's a quick primer:

Tom Delay's TRMPAC is accused of breaking Texas state finance laws by channeling corporate money into state legislative campaigns.

Delay is also accused of breaking laws involving foreign lobbyists. Hence the story about Russia, Korea, etc.

These are rather important concerns. Delay is being targeted for his family's sweetheart deals much in the same way that Bernie Kerik lost his chance to be Secretary of Homeland Security because he cheated on his wife.

If this stuff bores you, that's fine, you don't have to talk about it. It does seem strange that you take the time to research Bernie Sanders, an inconsequential figure, enough that you feel comfortable to talk about him, but can't be bothered to look up the guy who is House Majority Leader. We all have our priorities, I guess.

Shorter Jane, Take 2: "I can't be bothered to figure out the exact scope of corruption engaged in by the House Majority Leader of my party, but I'm sure that whatever it is, the other guys are just as bad." Noted.

I guess, just like DeLay, the democrats actively helped gut the ethics committees in congress, and redraw congressional districts, did they not? Just
so that no one could ask questions of DeLay, for
god forbid, if that happened they would also have
to answer for their corrupt ways.

lake powell

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