The election results are only a few weeks old and House Republicans have already passed a rule change allowing their party leaders to retain leadership positions while under criminal indictment.

This rule change was adopted by the GOP to protect House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who this year alone was cited by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee for three separate violations. He is also currently the focus of three criminal investigations related to fund-raising violations in Texas. The original rule requiring party leaders or committee chairs to step down while under indictment was passed by many of these same House Republicans in 1993 as part of a push toward ethics reform.

Can this be any more ironic considering the incessant charges of “flip-flop” leveled by the Bush-Cheney campaign at their opponent? Are these the moral values that voters cited as their reason for voting Republican?

Donald Withers

Hampden