Oh, yeah…

I promised to talk about Doc. The New York Times, pondering the question 'quis custodiet ipsos custodes,' notes the curious smell at the head of the fish...

With other complaints pending against Mr. DeLay, the new chairman chosen by the G.O.P. leadership, Representative Doc Hastings of Washington, is trying to have his own chief of staff assume a supervisory role in investigations. The last thing Republicans need is another power play by a DeLay loyalist to keep the panel neutered.

From the clumsy attempt to railroad changes to the ethics rules following his elevation to Ethics Committee Chair to this latest example of his fealty to DeLay, Doc Hastings (R-WA), a party line hack at his best, has revealed himself as one of the House Republican's notably unprincipled members. His Chairmanship is a sham, and a shame, and it's no wonder that Democrats shun participation in his charade.

At first glance, one's forced to wonder why Team DeLay would choose to put such a strong focus on their disdain for the House ethics process by making such a patently egregious choice in charge of it, but I see it as part of a larger pattern. It's in the interest of Republicans to foster public contempt for the institutions of government, encouraging citizens to eschew participation in public affairs, including the ballot, in the process. It's part of their general campaign to suppress the vote, and it doesn't even require rigged machines or dishonest elections officials.

It also serves miscreants like DeLay well to foster the idea that 'they all do it,' that you really can't expect anything but liars and swindlers to occupy positions of power in our government. By forcing expectations ever lower, they can extend their corruption ever further without fear of an outcry that might force a full and impartial investigation.

Of course, a full and impartial investigation of Tom DeLay and his minions will never take place in the current circumstances. The Times is right...

It's time for Speaker Dennis Hastert to show some leadership by signaling that the ethics committee has a larger role to play than weighting the scale to favor Mr. DeLay. In the past, committee rules calling for a nonpartisan investigative chief were honored in the high-profile inquiries that dealt with abuses by Speakers Newt Gingrich, a Republican, and Jim Wright, a Democrat.

Nothing less is acceptable now.

Yes, it's time. Past time.

Don't hold your breath.