Like Diogenes, only looking for an honest republican

Via this Carpetbagger Report post aptly titled Ethics, schmethics I was led to this article in today's Washington Post:

House Ethics Panel Chief May Be Replaced

By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 29, 2004; Page A04

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert is leaning toward removing the House ethics committee chairman, who admonished House Majority Leader Tom DeLay this fall and has said he will treat DeLay like any other member, several Republican aides said yesterday.

Although Hastert (Ill.) has not made a decision, the expectation among leadership aides is that the chairman, Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.), long at odds with party leaders because of his independence, will be replaced when Congress convenes next week.

The aides said a likely replacement is Rep. Lamar S. Smith, one of DeLay's fellow Texans, who held the job from 1999 to 2001. Smith wrote a check this year to DeLay's defense fund. An aide said Smith was favored for his knowledge of committee procedure.

Shocked? Yeah, I didn't think so. There goes yet another layer of potential accountability from the ironically named House of Representatives.

I for one am sick to death of hearing about the Democrats' lack of spine. How about casting an eye over on the other side of the aisle, where all the power lies? Is there a single republican left with any sense of morality? Why isn't the sainted John McCain speaking out about this? Oh, I forgot - he's apparently reserving his outrage for steroid use by professional athletes. Please. I'm old enough to remember the Rockefeller Republicans - from back in the day when the R-word wasn't a badge of cynicism and corruption.