The Place of Dead Roads

Rep. Shays, R-Conn: "Tom's conduct is hurting the Republican Party, is hurting this Republican majority and it is hurting any Republican who is up for re-election. My party is going to have to decide whether we are going to continue to make excuses for Tom to the detriment of Republicans seeking election."

The majority leader was admonished three times last year by the House ethics committee. The panel has been in limbo since March, when its five Democrats balked at adopting Republican-developed rules.

Shays, a moderate who has battled the GOP leadership on a number of issues, said efforts by House Republicans to change ethics rules to protect DeLay only make the party look bad.

Sen Chafee, R-R.I: "We've got to uphold the highest standards of legality and ethics. You can't have your leader under a cloud. It makes it difficult to run."

# posted by nicholas @ 9:13 PM