As our blog has been reporting for months now, the Republicans in Congress have no desire in cleaning up Washington and restoring trust to the American people.The following report tells of just how bad our government has gotten when it comes to money equaling power.
There is no other lawmaker in the United States that exemplifies that point more than Ed Bryant's good friend and contributor, disgraced and indicted Congressman Tom Delay:
Recent guilty pleas and documents showing the inside workings of political lobbying shed light on the connections between Rep. Tom DeLay and big money.
Delay, R-Texas, has been indicted on money-laundering charges involving his Texans for a Republican Majority political action committee. The judge in the case has dismissed a conspiracy charge.
DeLay was required to resign as House majority leader as the ethics scandal became a detraction for the Republican Party.
The Houston Chronicle reports the investigation into former DeLay aides-turned-lobbyists gives more insight into how political power can yield big bucks, although it isn't necessarily illegal.
Ed Buckham, DeLay's former top aide, secured $770,000 worth of business for his lobbying business because of his connection to the Texas congressman, the newspaper said.
One client, Virginia-based software company Questerra Corp., paid more than $50,000 to TRMPAC and more than $32,000 to the Americans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee so the firm's president could play golf with DeLay, the Chronicle reported.
Tony Rudy, a former DeLay aide and Buckham's partner, pled guilty Friday to corruption charges relating to work with convicted super lobbyist Jack Abramoff and agreed to cooperate with other ethics investigations.
It is time for John Boehner and the Republicans in the Congress to get serious when it comes to ethics.
I know Boehner has already said he is against ethics reform, but it is a necessity.
If they decide not to take action, I am confident the new Democratic congress will come 2007.
Read more about Ed Bryant's close relationship with Tom Delay here!
Read about Congressman Ford's actions on ethics reform here! (1 , 2, 3)
Read about John Boehner's views opposing ethics reform here!
Read about John Boehner's broken promises regarding ethics reform here!
