i have been quite confused on the whole Tom Delay 'relapse' in ethics ove the past few days. It is actually kind of been worrying me that the one of the most effiective Republicans that serves in the House has or is corrupt. I don't pay attention to much news or politics anymore, but this little doozey has caught my ear and kept me up a little at night.
Supposed what the media has drug up is that he has taken lobbyist sponsered trips to Russia and/or South Korea to play golf and trol-la-lah and galavant around the countries with his little devious eyes looking for people and places to be evil. that is what i gather from the most recent reports of Tom Delay.
I decided to do some listening and looking and a little reading with a little research to come up with a few peices of facts and a litte conservative propaganda.
I started at theNational Center for Public Policy Research. I have to admit they are a conservative think tank dedicated to doing behind the scene research on a number of issues. You can read the "About Us" page for more details. This is the group that is in queation of provideing monies to Tom Delay and his wife. This is their statement on the issue.
Delay wasn't the only person to go this trip.
"At least eight House members and 15 House aides filed the same paperwork and information on the South Korea trips including..." and this is in addition to DeLay, "including [Delegate]Faleomavaegaa Democrat. Lisa Williams chief of staff to Faleomavaega said, 'He went through the process of clearing him on the ethics to the Korea trip. Jim McDermott, Democrat on the Korea trip. 'It's a great 20/20 hindsight story,' said Mike DeCesare, spokesman for McDermott," Baghdad Jim if you'll recall, who went on one of the group's trips. "'McDermott's understanding" DeCesare said, 'that was the ethics committee cleared this.' Like the dozens of Republicans and Democrat members and staff who go on trips every year, DeLay reported this and other trips, and provided the appropriate disclosure information. Privately sponsored trips are a common bipartisan practice, although Democrats took approximately 600 more trips over the past few years.
These groups ranging from Aspen to the World Economic Forum spent $14.4 million to send lawmakers on more than 4,800 trips according to an analysis of congressional trips by a news service, the Medill News Service in partnership with American Public Media's marketplace program and American Radio Works.
"Aspen Institute, the top provider of these trips is a favorite of Democrats. They spent a total of 2.7 million on 490 trips with 69.2% of the money spend on Democrats, 30% spent on Republicans, 0.8% spent on independents. The Aspen Institute forums are held in places like Rome, Barcelona, Honolulu, Porto Vallarta, and the Bahamas. From 2000 to 2004, despite being the minority party, Democrat members of Congress took 54.3% of the trips which is 2,730, at an expense of $7,809,837. Republicans took 45.3% of the trips, grand total 2,095 totaling $6-1/2 million. Bottom line: Democrats took over 600 more trips than Republicans between 2000 and 2004, and the top five trip makers in the order of most spent on the trips from 2000 to 2004 were all Democrats. John Breaux [retirednews ] was the top trip taker in Congress. He took trips totaling $158,311.92. Bob Wexler, Florida, number two. Wexler's only domestic trip was to Greenbrier up in West Virginia. Gene Green, Democrat, Texas, third top trip maker. Maurice Hinchey, New York, the fourth. Cal Cooley, Democrat, California, was the fifth."
-Rush
(I am still finding all the hard numbers on these facts. Since I can't afford LexisNexis, I can't do very detailed searched of every newspaper in the world.)
Lets say that he is corrupt and he got a free trip to Russia and Korea, (who goes on vacation to those places anyway?) Take a look at what Harry Reid did. Where memebers of his family directly benefitted from a 'bipartisan' bill that he passed. Read the story.
I say all of this to ask this: Why is the media only talking about one guy and a couople of trips when this is the norm in the BeltWay? Is it possible there is an agenda to smear an effective Representative. Ben Stein (the monotone science teacher and the same 'Win Ben Stein's Money') wrote an opinion on this issue.
His Number 4 point hits on the head in my opinion
Tom DeLay's comments about a judiciary that sanctioned the torture murder of Terri Schiavo and how it has to be brought to account was a brave and entirely sensible approach to an issue that dismays and frightens many Americans. His comments are yet another sign of what a fine patriot this man is.
Read this Poison. You can see that people hate him because is a Bible Thumping, Ten commandment displaying Methodist.
When is the media going to learn, that they don't have a monopoly anymore.
