Do the right thing... without DeLay

In 1993, House Republicans tried to make their Democrat colleagues look bad. Now they are paying the price.

At the time, a number of prominent Democrat House members were weathering ethical scandals. Republicans passed an in-party rule requiring that any indicted leader step down until the issue was resolved. The intent was to embarrass Democrats by boasting that Republicans hold themselves to higher ethical standards. It was a cheap, political tactic, and it received little notice.

Now the shoe is on the other foot. With House Majority Leader Tom DeLay facing possible indictment for questionable fundraising activities in Texas, his fellow Republicans have come to his rescue by reversing their 1993 rule.

Democrats, of course, are calling "gotcha" and pointing out the hypocrisy of the Republicans. I say more power to them. The Republicans deserve the bad press--first for playing such silly games to begin with, and second for not having the integrity to follow the standard they created to mock the Democrats.

Cheap politics aside, the rule was foolish from the onset. An indictment isn't evidence of wrongdoing. It's simply an unproved accusation. Anyone can make an accusation, and as the saying goes, a Grand Jury will indict a ham sandwich.

If Republicans are to be believed, the effort to indict DeLay wreaks itself of cheap politics. Which is precisely why Republicans should never have adopted such a rule in the first place. These situations should be addressed on a case by case basis, with the appropriate parties evaluating the merits and recommending a course of action.

In creating this rule, Republicans set wisdom aside in favor of immediate political traction. In overturning the rule on behalf of DeLay, they are compounding their poor judgment. The honorable way to deal with this is to both repeal the rule and have Tom DeLay step down if he is indicted. This would demonstrate that the party has both wisdom and integrity.

The best way to gain real political traction is to do the right thing.