Thursday, August 28, 2008

Oh, the Hypocrisy! Dems decry "Ethics Rules"

Apparently, Dan Burton was right. But, hey, you wont read this in the local cage-liner. This is the kind of stuff you'll only read here. Trust the Gonz to dig deep in the dumpster to bring you the truth ... if you can handle it. I love this stuff!

According to DC rag "The Hill", Dem Lawmakers say the new Ethics rules are a "pain in the ass".

This is just precious, fellow DDs. I almost cannot contain that giddy feeling I get when the Libs so blatantly expose their hypocrisy. Check this quote :

Members of Congress attending the Democratic National Convention are expressing frustration with the thicket of restrictions that they say have caused confusion and pointless irritation.

“It’s a pain in the ass!” said Rep. Jim Moran (Va.), one of 221 Democrats who voted for the final version of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007.
These guys were all over the legislation when they could use it to embarrass the GOPers and make it look like they were the paragons of virtue, but the tune changed at their big dance. Now,

Democratic lawmakers have only themselves to blame. Just six House Democrats voted against the final version of the 2007 reform law: Reps. Neil Abercrombie (Hawaii), Allen Boyd (Fla.), Lacy Clay (Mo.), Emanuel Cleaver (Mo.), John Tanner (Tenn.) and John Murtha (Pa.), who called the reform “total crap” at the time.

Remember when the local cage-liner was hammering Dan Burton because he was the only one who voted against similar stupid ethics reform? At the time, the Congressman said:

The best way to do ethics reform is not to make a myriad of complicated rules that no one understands. The thing to do is to report everything. Put it up on the internet immediately, within 24 hours or so, and let the people know who's doing what.

Which is exactly what some Dems are saying now! The complicated and nearly uninterpretable rules have everybody in a scramble.

Kenneth Gross, an ethics expert at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, said many people are confused. Many event hosts think they can’t provide utensils at receptions attended by lawmakers.

“People think they have to eat with their fingers,” he said. “People are running around and collecting forks like an illegal substance.”

“You need a large staff just to interpret the rules,” said Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.). “We wrote it so complicated.”

Ruppersberger said it would make more sense for Congress to get rid of the bramble of complicated ethics rules and instead require lawmakers and staff to disclose immediately any perks and gifts they receive. He said the threat of public scrutiny would give Democrats and Republicans enough incentive to act ethically. (emphasis added.)

What? I rest my case.

No comments: