The Feld-Blog

So I haven't slept in about a week. Stanford a cappella auditions will do that to you. Anyway a lot has happened since I last had a chance to post, but I think the most surprising by far was Congressman Tom Delay's indictment.

The flurry of ethics and financial allegations sweeping through Washington seemed to glance the newspapers while politicians skillfully dodged any significant blows to their credibility or criminal record. Allegations, it seemed, blew past Delay every few years generating a ruckus for a few days and then dying down almost completely. It seemed that Washington politicians and Delay in particular were invincible.

Then I was blown away when one of these allegations actually hit its mark. Delay was indicted and forced to step down as leader. If you’ve read some of my previous posts, you’ll see that I think this kind of stupidity (if not corruption) is currently running pretty rampant and unchecked in our congress and, to some lesser extent, the White House. And while I would rather that these kinds of scandals just not happen, I am somewhat comforted to know that we as America are capable of holding our leaders accountable. I think this is a first step on a long road. It has been a while since someone ran on a platform of “cleaning up Washington.” Maybe its time again.

Being in power should not be a carte blanche for corruption. It is good to see that, in spite of the solid conservative power base in Congress, the disciplinary system in place can reach the Republican leadership as well. This would be just as true if Democrats were in power. I would want to know holding the majority and the power does not shelter the parties leaders from the same laws and rules that govern the rest of us.