Joel Hefley Praised By Democrats

Congressman Joel Hefley (R-Colorado Springs) was praised by House Democrats today for, well, remaining ethical while the chair of the House Ethics Committee. That may sound funny, but Hefley should be commended for standing up to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, after the Texas Republican "had created the appearance of linking political donations to a legislative favor and had improperly involved the Federal Aviation Administration in a Texas political dispute." Hefley's committee also chastised DeLay for "offering to support the House candidacy of then Republican Rep. Nick Smith's son in return for the lawmaker's vote for a Medicare prescription drug benefit."

The tribute was introduced by House Democrats, who said Hefley deserved better treatment. That brought tears to the eyes of Hefley's wife, state Rep. Lynn Hefley, R-Colorado Springs, who criticized Republicans in Congress.

"Now you tell me, is it ethical to be bipartisan?" she asked.

Hefley's fellow Republicans rewarded him earlier this year for his bravery by taking away his chairmanship. That's what you get for trying to do the right thing under DeLay's heavy hand.

Comments

[Stephen Swanson]

I believe I saw somewhere that he lost the chairmanship because of internal rules about how long one can chair that committee.

Indeed I did: http://www.gopbloggers.org/mt/archives/000241.html

[James Peabody]

While that is a Republican rule in the House, it can be easily waived by the Speaker. Check out our follow-up post on this today for a good debate on the whole matter.

http://coloradopoliticalnews.blogs.com/colorado_political_news/2005/02/joel_hefley_fum.html

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