WP: GOP Leaders Tighten Their Grip on House

[kskiska]

House Republican leaders moved swiftly last week to tighten and centralize control of the new Congress by replacing uncooperative committee chairmen and changing the chamber's rules to deter ethics investigations of leaders.

The Republicans expanded their majority by only three seats in the Nov. 2 election, yet party leaders have been emboldened by GOP domination of all branches of government and appear determined to squelch dissent in their own ranks and to freeze Democrats out of key decisions.

Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) moved to force out the ethics committee chairman, Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.), who supported three formal admonishments of Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) last year, and ousted the chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee for failing to toe the party line on spending. The GOP leaders also rammed through a change in House rules to make it more difficult in the future to file an ethics complaint against DeLay or other members.

A Republican leadership aide said the strategy for the week was to undermine any effort by Democrats to make DeLay as divisive and symbolic a figure as former speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) was in his day. "They want to 'Newter' DeLay -- to isolate him and make him the issue, not any policy issue," the aide said.

(snip)

"It took Democrats 40 years to get as arrogant as we have become in 10," one Republican leadership aide said.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59384-2005Jan8.html

[Pirate Smile]

1. Here is another classy move

"But Republicans had already made other changes, both large and small, to diminish the influence of Democratic lawmakers. For instance, Republicans have made it harder for Democrats to offer amendments to pending bills or participate in conference committees, where House and Senate versions of bills are reconciled. Democrats complain that Republicans even make it hard for voters to reach Democratic committee Web sites by making users going through the majority's home page. Republicans respond that the system is designed to avoid confusion since there is only one committee, and add that if they wanted to be tyrannical, they wouldn't let the minority have Web pages at all."

[mazzarro]

4. Democrats cannot set up their own servers and host their own

web pages - even if they have to solicit for private donations to do so? Are there any laws against that? Can Democrats be anymore unimaginative about being beaten up and sidelined by the reThugs? Come Democrats - grow some balls; People are sick and tired of democrats rolling over!

[pinniped]

2. Just watch these crooks operate.

--to deter ethics investigations of leaders--

[Pirate Smile]

3. This part not only pisses me off but makes me sad.

"House leaders also replaced Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.), who was beloved by veterans and did not hold down spending the way leaders wanted. The new chairman is Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), who convinced party leaders during a rigorous job interview that he would be tougher.

A leadership aide described Smith as "just not a team player." To underscore their point, leaders not only demoted Smith but also removed him from the committee."

Loyalty to constituents, veterans, even the country will not be tolorated - party above all else.