To all those who prayed for this to happen - the hijacking of our government by the radical right - you better reap the same screwjob the rest of us will get. This is an outrage.
House GOP May Change Leadership RulesKos points out that the GOP pushed through the original law when Rostenkowski was about to get hung out to dry. These people are bastards. Every last one of them. Bastards.
House Republicans were contemplating changing their rules in order to allow members indicted by state prosecutors to remain in a leadership post, a move designed to benefit Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) in case he is charged by a Texas grand jury that has indicted three of his political associates, GOP leaders said today.
The rules change, which some leaders said is likely to be adopted Wednesday, comes as House Republicans return to Washington indebted to DeLay for the enhanced majority they won in this month's elections. DeLay led an aggressive redistricting effort in Texas last year that resulted in five Democratic House members retiring or losing reelection. It also triggered the grand jury inquiry into fundraising efforts related to the state legislature's redistricting actions.
House Republicans recognize that DeLay fought fiercely to widen their majority, and they are eager to protect him from an Austin-based investigation they view as baseless and partisan, said Rep. Eric I. Cantor (R-Va.), the GOP's chief deputy whip.
"That's why this [proposed rule change] is going to pass, assuming it is submitted, because there is a tremendous recognition that Tom DeLay led on the issue to produce five more seats in our majority," Cantor said after emerging from a meeting in which the Republican Conference welcomed new members and reelected Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and DeLay as its top leaders.
