Cynical Nation

I'm happy to see that congressional GOP leaders have backed off from a loosening of ethics rules intended to help Tom DeLay. I'd be happier, of course, if they'd never considered the rules change in the first place.

I criticized the DeLay rule change from the get-go. Some of my Republican friends disagreed with me, pointing out that it left party leaders vulnerable to politically motivated, baseless indictments by any unscrupulous partisan D.A.

Well, they've got a point. But to suddenly reverse your own rule that you've been perfectly happy with for a decade as soon as someone on your team is affected by it just looks sleazy. Sorry, but that's the way I see it. Had the Republicans persevered on this course, they would have handed the Democrats a huge campaign issue, and I don't think that's wise. Passing tax code and Social Security reform will be hard enough without that kind of distraction.

Yes, it is possible that DeLay may have to give up his leadership position over an unjust indictment. No, that wouldn't be fair. But rewriting the rules is not the way to deal with it. When the preservation of your own party's power is of tantamount importance, and when you damage your own legislative agenda to preserve incumbency, it's time for you to go.

Remember the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994? Why did that happen? Ideology played a role, sure, but the dominant factor was what Newt Gingrich called the "arrogance of power" -- the entrenched corruption of the ruling elite. That's what took Jim Wright down, and it can take Dennis Hastert down too. We need to remember that.