smokerblog

Reaching Out and Working Together

Yesterday, I was prepared to launch into a conniption over recent reports of creationist, red-state textbook meddlers and the over-educated, blue-state liberals who hate them, but I'll just let the National Geographic have the last word on that one.

Instead, today's conniption is brought to you by the rank hypocrisy currently stinking up Capitol Hill. This morning, NPR's Morning Edition had a report on the party ethics rule changes passed last night by Republicans that will allow Senate Majority Leader Tom DeLay to keep his post in the event he is indicted in Texas state corruption charges. The original rule was adopted ten years ago in reaction to the scandal involving then House Ways and Means Committee Chair, Democrat Dan Rostenkowski. Oh but, now that the Republicans are in charge, those rules apparently shouldn't apply.

Wait, there's more. The Republican-controlled Senate just voted along party lines to raise the national debt ceiling (now, there's fiscal responsibilty) and now hopes to bar or limit filibusters during debate over judicial confirmations. Senator John McCain at least has voiced his unease with these proposals:

I worry about doing away with the rights of the minority in the Senate. If I believed the Republicans would be in the majority forever, I'd be far more favorably disposed.

It sure seems that the Republican leadership is prepared to think that way. The party's rightward shift can be seen in hard-line attempts to squeeze moderate Republican voices such as McCain and Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. Even some conservative columnists predict that these efforts could come back to haunt the Republicans.

Who was the guy who said that thing? Oh yeah, Santayana.