BCT Editorial – 6/5/05

This page was last updated on June 5, 2005.

Tripped up; Editorial; Beaver County Times; June 5, 2005.

This is the fifth editorial since April 21^st insisting, “the problem is not DeLay,” yet all of the editorials mention Rep. DeLay repeatedly and none mention anyone else. Does the author not believe his agenda isn’t 100% transparent? The previous editorials were entitled “Power failure,” “One master,” “Bring it on,” and “Perfectly legal.” In another editorial, the Times tried to equate allegations against Rep. DeLay with the criminal charges against former House Speaker Jim Wright (D-TX) and Bill Clinton.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“If you think the game of gotcha going on in the nation’s Capitol is about the travels and travails of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and other members of the House of Representatives, you’re missing the point.

“It’s not about questionable travel arrangements and whether they violated the House’s generous and forgiving rules. Instead, it’s about the massive amount of influence special interests have over Congress and how it is corrupting what little is left of our democratic process.

“DeLay’s ethical problems when it comes to lobbyists are well documented. But as we have written before, it would be wrong to focus on DeLay because while what he did was particularly blatant, it was fairly common practice among his colleagues in the House.”

[RWC] If the alleged ethical problems are well documented, why not provide us with the proof? If they are well documented, shouldn’t the editorial author have been able to refer us to Times news stories on the topic?

“An Associated Press review found that at least 43 House members and dozens of aides failed to publicly report travel financed by special interests until DeLay’s trips were scrutinized. Despite a rule requiring public disclosure within 30 days after a trip’s conclusion, at least 198 recently filed travel reports that were as much as eight years late.

“It was a bipartisan mix of equal opportunity offenders. There were 23 GOP members, 19 Democrats and one independent, all of them months or years late in their reporting to the House public records office.

“Included in the group was U.S. Rep, Melissa Hart, R-4, Bradford Woods, who didn’t report a trip she took to Hungary and Germany last November. (Which raises an interesting point: How can Hart, who sits on the House ethics committee, judge DeLay’s travel record when hers is tarnished? And what about the $15,000 she has received from DeLay’s PAC?)”

[RWC] The editorial author forgot to note the Ethics Committee is composed of equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans. Even if Ms. Hart wanted to, she couldn’t do anything to derail the DeLay investigation without cooperation from Democrats on the committee. I believe it’s safe to assume that wouldn’t happen.

“These casual reporting incidents show how the roles of special interests and duties of government officials are blurred in Washington. These elected officials can’t see where the one starts and the other ends.

“While these travel arrangements are troubling, they are just a symbol for the way in which special-interest money is polluting American government and undermining democracy in America.

“Every lawmaker has a voting constituency and a money constituency. Sadly, it’s no longer ‘We, the people,’ our elected officials serve. It’s ‘We, the special interests’ that they kowtow to.

“Special interests call the tune in D.C., and their money gives incumbents an unfair financial advantage over potential challengers at election time. As a result of their power and money and gerrymandering, which is really an incumbent protection racket, voters are little more than rubber stamps.

“In America today, special interests, via their elected lackeys, control government, and you can bet your bottom dollar that both are looking out for No. 1, not you.”

[RWC] My comments regarding the ranting about special interests are in my critique of “Death grip.”