Ney, DeLay Should Be Wakeup Call for Real Reform

This week’s announcement by Bob Ney that he will not stand for re-election adds yet another casualty to the ethics and bribery scandals engulfing Washington.

The departures of the likes of Ney and Tom DeLay are undoubtedly welcomed by anybody who has the better interests of the country at heart.  Who could really fret about losing a Texan who used his “hammer

The spectacular revelations surrounding Abramoff, while more easily condemned, are not provably more damaging to congressional integrity and the public than the special interest giveaways that are as common here as humid days.  It is hard to pick what is worse: Lawmakers jetting to all-expenses-paid golfing jaunts in Scotland or the renewal of a program that helped the likes of the hotel chain Marriott save $9 billion over three years in federal tax credits for selling coal sprayed with diesel fuel. While the former evidently can cost someone a spot in Congress, the latter – exacting a far bigger price from taxpayers – falls under the yawn-inducing heading of “business as usual.