Day By Day© by Chris Muir.

December 12, 2006

Jim McDermott: Ethics, Schmethics

What if a congressman violated Congressional ethics standards and no one cared?

Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) was found to have violated Congressional ethics standards when he leaked an illegally taped phonecall between then-Republican House speaker Newt Gingrich and GOP leaders.

In a report released days after Congress adjourned, the ethics panel said that McDermott, a former ranking member of the panel, failed to meet his obligations as a committee leader.

The committee took no further action beyond release of the report.

Does anyone remember these words?

With their votes, the American people asked for change. They cast their ballots in favor of a New Direction.

They called for greater integrity in Washington, and Democrats pledge to make this the most honest, ethical, and open Congress in history.

Now some of you may be saying, "But it was almost ten years ago! Water under the bridge." I say baloney. It may have taken ten years to finally come to a conclusion on this fiasco, but McDermott needs to be taken to task.

How about this, from a speech by McDermott posted on his own website?

Freedom in America does not mean granting the government unlimited and unchecked powers to snoop into private lives without any counterbalance.

Last time I checked, individuals (Congressmen or no) weren't given that right either. At least the Bush administration is trying to stop another terrorist attack by Islamofascists on American soil. And the phone surveillance progam is kosher, by the way. What was McDermott trying to do? Sully the name of a fellow politician in the hopes of torpedoing him. Yet McDermott is given a pass by Nancy "Ethics Queen" Pelosi and her cronies.

"New Direction" indeed. Sounds like business as usual to me.

Another "victory" for Democratic "ethics"

h/t: Michelle Malkin