Common Cause has compiled the definitive resource on all things DeLay. Murshed, formerly of the Dean campaign, sent this:
The House of Representatives today finds itself in an unprecedented situation. It has no functioning Ethics Committee at a time when allegations of misconduct are mounting fast against its most powerful leader and serial ethics violator, Tom DeLay (R-TX).
This is no coincidence.
How this came to be is a complicated story about DeLay, who has already been four times admonished by the Ethics Committee for abuse of power and other misconduct, and efforts by Republican leadership to shield him. It involves retaliation, threats, legislation, rules changes and a failure by many members of Congress to support accountability in the "People's House."
(Warning: If you've been anywhere near a full plate in the last hour, you might want to wait a while before reading the rest.)
Common Cause also has a blog. There they document the outrage, including this:
What does a comprehensive energy policy for the United States and Hooter's have in common? Not much. Yet, that is exactly what appeared in the version of the energy bill that came out of conference committee - subsidies to build, among other things, a Hooter's restaurant in Shreveport, Louisiana. The subsidy was called the "greenbonds" initiative and was not in either of the original House or Senate versions of the bill. Democrats were included in only two of the conference committee's meetings on the massive bill.
There's more, but can we take a moment to reframe this to our liking? (Remember the theme: these are reckless rightwing Republicans who can't be trusted with our money.)
In short, Republicans want to build Hooters with YOUR tax dollars. I like it. Simple, direct, with that talk-radio quality we all aspire to.
Frank Luntz would be proud.
