Run for cover
Look out... the House Ethics Committee is back in operation and
"Gotcha Politics” will reign supreme once again.
"This could easily turn out to be another era defined by the
criminalization of policy differences," said Norman Ornstein, resident
scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, commenting on the ethics
committee. "Ethics issues tend to be used as a club in larger
political warfare."
On the Democratic committee hit list are Reps. Bob Ney (R-Ohio),
Richard Pombo (R-Calif.), Charles Taylor (R-N.C.), Rob Simmons (R-Conn.),
Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif) and Tom DeLay (R-Tex).
Some have suggested that Democrats may not really want conclusive
decisions about Ethics. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) is under scrutiny
for making public the contents of an illegally taped phone
conversation in 1997. And should a true ethics war erupt, there are
many more Democrats who could come under scrutiny as well for possible
violations.