Demagogue

Apparently "integrity" is a French word now because the House GOP leadership will have nothing to do with it.

House Republican leaders tightened their control over the ethics committee yesterday by ousting its independent-minded chairman [read: ethical Republican], appointing a replacement who is close to them [read: in DeLay's pocket] and adding two new members who donated to the legal defense fund of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.).

Republican officials have spent months taking steps to ensure DeLay's political survival in case he is indicted by a Texas grand jury investigating political fundraising, and House leadership aides said they needed to have the ethics committee controlled by lawmakers they can trust [to protect Tom DeLay no matter what].
...
Republican leaders put on the committee two new members who have donated to a DeLay legal fund: Rep. Lamar S. Smith (R-Tex..) and Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.). Smith gave DeLay $10,000, making him among the seven largest donors among congressional members, and Cole gave $5,000, according to an analysis of disclosure records by the watchdog group Public Citizen.
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Democrats and public interest groups said that changes made to the composition of the committee made it unlikely that DeLay's power would be threatened by committee action, no matter how many questions are raised about his activities.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the removal of [Rep. Joel] Hefley [(R-CO)] sent "a chilling message to members who value upholding the highest ethical standard over partisan loyalty."

Personally, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Should we be optimistic about their inevitable self-destruction or assume that this is the way it will be from now on, for a very long time, because no one seems to notice how strung out they are on their own power.