An Appeal from Center-Right Bloggers
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James Joyner | Friday, January 13, 2006 |
A joint statement crafted by N.Z. Bear with some input from the signatories.
We are bloggers with boatloads of opinions, and none of us come close to agreeing with any other one of us all of the time. But we do agree on this: The new leadership in the House of Representatives needs to be thoroughly and transparently free of the taint of the Jack Abramoff scandals, and beyond that, of undue influence of K Street.
We are not naive about lobbying, and we know it can and has in fact advanced crucial issues and has often served to inform rather than simply influence Members.
But we are certain that the public is disgusted with excess and with privilege. We hope the Hastert-Dreier effort leads to sweeping reforms including the end of subsidized travel and other obvious influence operations. Just as importantly, we call for major changes to increase openness, transparency and accountability in Congressional operations and in the appropriations process.
As for the Republican leadership elections, we hope to see more candidates who will support these goals, and we therefore welcome the entry of Congressman John Shadegg to the race for Majority Leader. We hope every Congressman who is committed to ethical and transparent conduct supports a reform agenda and a reform candidate. And we hope all would-be members of the leadership make themselves available to new media to answer questions now and on a regular basis in the future.
Signed,
N.Z. Bear, The Truth Laid Bear
Hugh Hewitt, HughHewitt.com
Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit.com
Kevin Aylward, Wizbang!
La Shawn Barber, La Shawn Barber’s Corner
Lorie Byrd, Polipundit
John Hawkins, Right Wing News
John Hinderaker, Power Line
Jon Henke / McQ / Dale Franks, QandO
James Joyner, Outside The Beltway
Mike Krempasky, Redstate.org
Michelle Malkin, MichelleMalkin.com
Ed Morrissey, Captain’s Quarters
Scott Ott, Scrappleface
John Donovan / Bill Tuttle, Castle Argghhh!!!
See N.Z. Bear for other “signatories.”
_________
Previously:
- Shadegg Enters Majority Leader Race
Boehner Pledges End to K-Street Project
Blunt v. Boehner: Bluntâs Lead Grows
Blunt vs. Boehner: The K-Street Connection
Boehner vs. Blunt: The E-Mail Wars
Fixing Congress by Restoring Conservatism
Tom DeLay Resigns Leadership Post
Judge Throws Out Tom Delay Conspiracy Charges
Leadership Thwarted in Attempt to Impose DeLay Successor
Bloggers React to DeLay Indictment
Tom Delay Indicted by Texas Grand Jury
Tom DeLay: Liar or Fool? (Stotch)
Republicans to Reverse Ethics Rules Changes: Hastert
Bush Not Seeking DeLayâs Ouster
Newt Gingrich Criticizes Tom DeLay on Ethics
Is the Cover-Up Worse than the Crime?
Democrats to Make âEthicsâ Key to 2006 Campaign
Conduct Unbecoming a Congressman
DeLay Appears To Be Off The Hook
GOP Pushes Rule Change To Protect DeLayâs Post
Ethics Truce Frays in House
HOT PINK LEISURE SUITS
POLITICIANS BEING POLITICAL?!
—–
Abramoff Scandal Backfiring of Republican Strategy?
Abramoff Scandal Brings New Scrutiny to Lobbying
Abramoff Bought Cato Columnist Doug Bandow
Scandals Heighten Public Concerns about Corruption
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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Great! Shadegg the flip flopper (remember the Medicare bill from last summer?)! He'll make a wonderful leader for our party.
That's very nice, but what about all of the Republican Congresspeople who voted to lower the standards for ethics so Delay could remain Majority Leader? Where were all the cries for reform BEFORE the crimes hit the news? Everyone in Congress new about the KStreet project and the sleazy practices but no Republican objected until it hit the news.
Cat: Actually, several people on that list, myself included, argued against changing the rules for DeLay. See this post from November 2004, for example.
The new leadership in the House of Representatives needs to be thoroughly and transparently free of the taint of the Jack Abramoff scandals, and beyond that, of undue influence of K Street.
I wholeheartedly agree. But you know, of course, that this criteria would leave only Democrats as candidates.
It is encouraging to see support for cleaning up the mess in DC, but the GOP needs to be honest with itself and admit that level of corruption under Bush/Delay makes anything that went on in the Clinton era look like the work of nickel & dime grifters.
The "everyone is doing it" line does not impress me. No doubt there is plenty of corruption amongst Democrats, but the GOP has taken it to a level this country has never seen.
if it were possible for the public to be disgusted with excess and privilege, we would not have a reelection rate that would make castro jealous. sisyphus suffered less frustration than a perennial challenger in a congressional race.i HOPE this because of public indifference.
RE: Great! Shadegg the flip flopper (remember the Medicare bill from last summer?)! Heâll make a wonderful leader for our party.
Posted by: Bolstoh at January 13, 2006 15:04
I'm not quite sure I understand what Bolstoh is talking about. Shadegg was one of 25 GOP members to vote against the Medicare bill. Click here and scroll down to see how members voted.
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