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Hastert's Plan

We are encouraged that Speaker Hastert has put reform on the front burner of the 2006 legislative agenda.  Many of the reforms he proposed today - a ban on privately funded travel, enhanced disclosure of lobbying activities, extending the moratorium on lobbying for Members of Congress from one year to two years, and denying floor and other privileges to former Members  - are part of our Common Cause Ethics Challenge.

However, we are disappointed that the Speaker has not honed in on the most crucial element of any reform package - effective enforcement of the rules governing gifts, travel, and lobby disclosure.  That's why Common Cause is strongly advocating for an independent ethics commission.  Congress simply has not proven itself up to the task of policing the conduct of its own members.  We need strong, independent enforcement of the ethics rules.

We are calling on the Speaker to ensure that these proposals don't result in  "drive-by" lobbying reform that looks good on paper but does not get to the crux of the problem.  The Speaker's very ambitious goal of getting comprehensive reform legislation voted out of committee by the end of February should not interfere with the development of thoughtful, substantive legislation that will prove effective over time and not serve merely as a public relations "bandaid."


Tags: Ethics in Government (all tags)


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Discrimation against black Republicans

Here is an article i took off the Sistertoldjah.com website, that exposes the truth about the bigotry that consevartive African-americans face for their beliefs and the courage it takes to be like Martin Luther King.
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Black Democratic leaders in Maryland say that racially tinged attacks against Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele in his bid for the U.S. Senate are fair because he is a conservative Republican.

Such attacks against the first black man to win a statewide election in Maryland include pelting him with Oreo cookies during a campaign appearance, calling him an "Uncle Tom" and depicting him as a black-faced minstrel on a liberal Web log.

Operatives for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) also obtained a copy of his credit report -- the only Republican candidate so targeted.

But black Democrats say there is nothing wrong with "pointing out the obvious."
"There is a difference between pointing out the obvious and calling someone names," said a campaign spokesman for Kweisi Mfume, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

State Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a black Baltimore Democrat, said she does not expect her party to pull any punches, including racial jabs at Mr. Steele, in the race to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes.

"Party trumps race, especially on the national level," she said. "If you are bold enough to run, you have to take whatever the voters are going to give you. It's democracy, perhaps at its worse, but it is democracy."

Delegate Salima Siler Marriott, a black Baltimore Democrat, said Mr. Steele invites comparisons to a slave who loves his cruel master or a cookie that is black on the outside and white inside because his conservative political philosophy is, in her view, anti-black.

"Because he is a conservative, he is different than most public blacks, and he is different than most people in our community," she said. "His politics are not in the best interest of the masses of black people."

by Adan on Wed Jan 18, 2006 at 03:58:08 AM EST


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