You’ve likely heard by now that a Texas grand jury has indicted Rep Tom DeLay, R-Texas, for a campaign finance scheme, and that DeLay has temporarily stepped down has House majority leader. I’m leery of the GOP response that the indictment is “prosecutorial retribution by a partisan Democrat.” DeLay can be ethically challenged, and was cited three times last year by the House ethics committee. But DeLay is savvy and, no doubt, has good attorneys advising him of how far he can go before crossing the legal line. So I’ll be surprised if The Hammer gets nailed on this.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Nobody quits a job he’s officially had for only two months by saying “it is time . . . to step aside” — at least not if he expects to be believed. But whatever prompted veterinarian Lester Crawford’s resignation as Food and Drug Administration commissioner last week, the Bush administration should learn from recent missteps at FDA and elsewhere and get this prime post right. The FDA is supposed to ensure that unsafe drugs don’t get on the market (Vioxx) and that safe drugs do (Plan B emergency contraceptive). Crawford’s FDA faltered on both counts.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
How on earth could Michael Brown think, as he told a congressional panel Tuesday, that warning President Bush and two White House officials in phone calls and e-mails “this is going to be a bad one” counted as decisive preventive action before Katrina hit? And his comment that “my biggest mistake was not recognizing by Saturday that Louisiana was dysfunctional” was absurd. Another maddening statement: “So I guess you want me to be the superhero, to step in there and take everyone out of New Orleans.” Brown only confirmed what everybody knew going into the hearing: that he had no business directing FEMA.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
All but one of the Senate Democrats considering running for president in 2008 oppose the nomination of John Roberts to be chief justice of the United States. The “no” camp includes Sens. Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. Only Sen. Russ Feingold is a “yes.” But as James Taranto of The Wall Street Journal and liberal columnist Eleanor Clift of Newsweek wondered, how might these senators vote if there were a secret ballot and they didn’t have to worry about appeasing the left-wing base?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The world witnessed some of Army Pfc. Lynndie England’s mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib via those infamous photographs, so there was real relief in seeing her convicted Monday on six counts. Similarly, it’s good that two other guards were convicted and six more pleaded guilty. But who believes that no officers or military intelligence higher-ups were involved in this abuse? Where is the accountability?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The American Dream Express will roll into Wichita Thursday. The campaign-style bus tour promoting the “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” will make a stop at the Wichita Independent Business Association from 10:30 to 11 a.m. But while the goal of TABOR is worthy — curbing the growth of government spending — amending a one-size-fits-all budget formula into the Kansas Constitution is the wrong approach. It’s lawmakers’ job to sort out spending priorities and make difficult budget decisions. If they aren’t doing that to our satisfaction, we have a simple remedy: Vote the bums out of office.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, didn’t vote for the Medicare prescription drug boondoggle in the first place. Now, to his further credit, he’s supporting a two-year postponement of the program (except for the lowest-income seniors) to help cover the immense costs of Hurricane Katrina. He’s also advocating a one-year moratorium on all 2006 earmarks, those pork expenditures lawmakers inject into larger bills. All of this is a political long shot — especially given how many drug-taking senior citizens vote — but it’s good to see a member of the Kansas delegation facing facts on what Katrina and Rita should mean for the federal budget.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
