House Republicans Beg for Mercy

They're trying to shuck and jive their way out of this DeLay mess. Please, we'll investigate, they say. Not a chance. Their so-called "deal" is no different from the "deal" they sought several weeks ago:

Senior committee Democrat Alan Mollohan of West Virginia quickly rejected the offer, saying his party would continue blocking the panel from operating unless investigative rules imposed by Republicans were changed.

This is the second time in two weeks that Republicans tried to break the deadlock, while Democrats have held their ground and criticized the GOP-written rules for investigating lawmakers, passed in January without Democratic support. Democrats have accused the majority party of writing the rules to protect DeLay.

“The first principle in doing it right is that it be bipartisan,” said Mollohan. “That’s a beginning point for me.”

It's better politics for the Democrats not to buckle and allow a corrupt ethics investigation that will eventually go nowehere. It's better to have DeLay continue to twist in the wind. But it's also better for American government to insist upon a bipartisan, no-strings-attached internal affairs apparatus that is allowed to investigate and castigate members of Congress. That's what Republicans would want if the show was on the other foot. Nothing short of that will suffice.