Packing the Ethics Committee with DeLay loyalists further immunizes the Republican congressional leadership not just from the Democrats but also from democracy.

I filed the ethics complaint against Tom DeLay not because I'm a Democrat and he's a Republican or even because he drew me out of my congressional seat but because he engaged in corruption to further his plans to disenfranchise voters in Texas.

I filed the ethics complaint against Tom DeLay not because I'm a Democrat and he's a Republican or even because he drew me out of my congressional seat but because he engaged in corruption to further his plans to disenfranchise voters in Texas.

[DeLay released a statement saying he would] accept the committee's guidance. ... manipulating the ethics process in pursuit of his personal vendetta.

Ethics in government has always been important to me.

For one thing, Democrats can explain that resolutions of censure have typically been reserved for ethics violations, not for meretricious statements - thereby perhaps succeeding in confusing the debate and wriggling off the hook.