Tom DeLay Flap Produces Hyperbole

[cal04]

Democrats and Republicans are using the ethics turmoil surrounding House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to wage a rhetorical duel accusing each other of skirting tough debates on Social Security, gas prices and judges. Hyperbole, no stranger on Capitol Hill, is a key weapon in a fight tightly coordinated by party leaders. Republicans lunged first on Wednesday, accusing Democrats of exploiting questions about who paid for two of DeLay's trips abroad. ''Tom DeLay did nothing wrong,'' Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., told reporters after the weekly GOP caucus meeting. ''There's no evidence of any breaking of the House rules. What this is, is a political smear campaign made by an organization, a political party that is devoid of ideas.''

Democrats parried by describing DeLay as the face of a Republican majority controlled by radical, right-wing extremists, unfairly wielding power by changing House ethics rules and threatening to abolish Senate filibusters -- a hallowed tradition that allows senators to stall legislation with unlimited talk. ''Republicans are engaging in abuse of power and the American people are paying the price,'' said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California. Added Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., ''The Republicans in the House of Representatives are running the most closed and bitterly partisan House in the history of our country.''

DeLay has been cast as either a whipping boy or poster boy in news conferences, debates and hallway asides over who paid for some of his official trips, the Terri Schiavo case and the GOP's majority stewardship of the House and Senate. On Wednesday, DeLay apologized for ''inartful'' phrasing when he said on the day Schiavo died that the judges involved would have to answer for their decisions against her parents, who wanted to reconnect her feeding tube. But he gave no ground on the ethics debate.

He told reporters that he was eager to appear before the leaders of the House ethics committee to respond to the conduct allegations. But in an interview with The Washington Times, published Thursday, DeLay charged that Democrats had shut down the panel to prevent him from clearing his name. ''The only way I can be cleared is through the ethics committee,'' he said, ''so they don't want one.''
DeLay charged that Democrats actually want the work of the committee thwarted so that they can protect one of their own members, Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington, who is under scrutiny in connection with the illegal leak of a tape recording of a Republican congressman's cellphone conversation.


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-DeLay-Fallout.html?

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. 40 lashes

for whoever wrote that headline.

Jeez.

[thebigidea]

2. the usual liberal media "both sides are just as bad" kind of reporting

"republicans said blah blah democrats said blah blah both are equally true blah blah lets not offend anyone blah blah especially not by investigating and trying to determine the truth blah blah better to just reprint press releases and quote pundits blah blah."

[ClassWarrior]

3. Exactly. When the Dems are responsible for a perceived wrong...

...the media says they're guilty of so-and-so. When the Republicons are to blame, then it's "both sides are accusing one another of thus-and-such." Fucking Corporate Media Whores.

NGU.