2008 Woodie Awards
The epitome of conservative corruption
Editorial
Issue date: 4/7/05 Section: Opinion
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House Majority Leader Tom DeLay finds himself in increasingly hot water lately as the Texas Republican, who was admonished three times last year by the typically listless House ethics committee, has been criticized three times in the past two months for relationships with lobbyists. And currently under investigation are junkets to Russia, South Korea, England and Scotland that were paid for by lobbyists and foreign agents who stood to benefit financially from the visits.
The water gets higher; Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) has alleged that DeLay might have violated a federal statute that prohibits threatening members of the federal judiciary when he said, "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior," in response to judges ruling repeatedly that 11th hour congressional interference did not require doctors to reinsert Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.
After composing himself a bit, DeLay said he plans to ask the Judiciary Committee to "look at an arrogant, out-of-control, unaccountable judiciary that thumbed their nose at Congress and the president."
Rep. DeLay would benefit from a closer reading of the U.S. Constitution, which provides a framework for each of the three branches of the federal government to check and balance the power of the others, and the Marbury v. Madison (1803) decision, which established the essential power of judicial review of congressional and executive action.
DeLay's obvious ignorance of the fundamental workings of the government in which he plays such a prominent part is frightening; he called the actions of state and federal courts in the Schiavo case a "failure," but even the owner of the most rudimentary knowledge of the functions of the judiciary would recognize the resounding success of the judicial branch in fighting off a conservative Congress drunk on its own power.
But DeLay's shocking ignorance pales in comparison to his blatant disregard of House ethics rules and his apparent inability to learn from the mistakes of his superiors. Delay's challenge to critics who question the propriety of his conduct as a congressional representative: "Bring it on."
The water gets higher; Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) has alleged that DeLay might have violated a federal statute that prohibits threatening members of the federal judiciary when he said, "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior," in response to judges ruling repeatedly that 11th hour congressional interference did not require doctors to reinsert Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.
After composing himself a bit, DeLay said he plans to ask the Judiciary Committee to "look at an arrogant, out-of-control, unaccountable judiciary that thumbed their nose at Congress and the president."
Rep. DeLay would benefit from a closer reading of the U.S. Constitution, which provides a framework for each of the three branches of the federal government to check and balance the power of the others, and the Marbury v. Madison (1803) decision, which established the essential power of judicial review of congressional and executive action.
DeLay's obvious ignorance of the fundamental workings of the government in which he plays such a prominent part is frightening; he called the actions of state and federal courts in the Schiavo case a "failure," but even the owner of the most rudimentary knowledge of the functions of the judiciary would recognize the resounding success of the judicial branch in fighting off a conservative Congress drunk on its own power.
But DeLay's shocking ignorance pales in comparison to his blatant disregard of House ethics rules and his apparent inability to learn from the mistakes of his superiors. Delay's challenge to critics who question the propriety of his conduct as a congressional representative: "Bring it on."
