Bad boy, Tommy. Bad boy.

For the second time in a week, the House ethics committee Wednesday night admonished House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, this time for engaging in fund-raising activities that created the appearance of impropriety, and for using his position to exert undue influence over a federal agency.

SF Gate article

Big whoop. Not only is this the second "admonishment", it carries two separate admonishments in it. Where's that "three strikes, you're out" deal when you need it?

[H]is lawyer, Ed Bethune, a former congressman who specializes in ethics cases, said that the most serious allegations against DeLay in the complaint had been judged unfounded, and noted that no sanctions were being directed at the majority leader.

Exactly. And I want to know why not.

On Wednesday, before the committee released its report, Judicial Watch - - a conservative public interest group -- called on DeLay to resign his position as majority leader, citing last week's rebuke in the case involving Rep. Nick Smith, R-Mich.

Tom DeLays don't voluntarily step down.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Update 9:50am: The Poor Man takes up this question of "why not". He believes it's connected to truth in advertising, like Cheez Whiz has to be spelled like that because it doesn't actually have cheese in it.

So this "Ethics Committee" is an organization that, if you engage in bribery, gross misuse of federal agencies for political gain, and soliciting bribes, will say that that is a bad thing to do, you naughty Congressman. Or, optionally, they won't do anything. So it's kinda like a panel that enforces Congressional ethics, but not really. Wouldn't it be a bit more honest to rename it the "House Ethix Committee"? That way, it wouldn’t be such a sick fucking joke how corrupt and useless it was.

If you would like to request that the Ethics Committee adopt the "Ethix" nomenclature (or, if you'd like them to get off of their dead asses and appoint a outside counsel to get to the bottom of Tom DeLay's criminality), go here.

Poor Man post