Abstract

Hammer Strikes--Out?

Editorial. The article presents an editorial regarding corrupt practices of United States Republican House majority leader Tom DeLay. Republican House majority leader Tom DeLay has sustained his own whacks recently for a series of unethical actions. Two reports by the House Ethics Committee outline several of the corrupt ways DeLay maintains (and abuses) power; they also show that the Congressional ethics system allows Representatives to escape serious penalties for improper acts that undermine democratic governance. In May 2003, when Democratic Texas legislators left Texas to thwart (temporarily) a Republican redistricting plan designed to enlarge the Texas Republican House delegation, DeLay's staff asked the Federal Aviation Administration to locate the legislators' plane in an effort to force them home to vote on the plan. In May 2002, as Congress was considering an energy bill, he held a golfing fundraiser at which he asked energy company executives what they wanted to see in the legislation. In November 2003, as Republicans were trying to pass Medicare legislation favored by President George W. Bush, DeLay leaned on a Republican holdout, Representative Nick Smith, offering to endorse Smith's son in a Congressional primary if Smith voted for the bill. And in September 2004, three fundraisers for Texans for a Republican Majority, linked to DeLay, and eight corporate donors were indicted in Texas for allegedly funneling illegal contributions to Republican state candidates.