"Jesus Loves The Ethically Challenged"

Close your eyes and imagine this scene, which may have occurred a couple of years ago. You are in the nation of Liberia. Tyrant Charles Taylor proclaims that he is going to water down the ethics rules of this government so that he and his henchmen can't be held accountable for their crimes and misdeeds. Your response? Ho hum. Totally expected from such a crazy guy in a such a lawless nation.

Now open your eyes tomorrow morning as the Congress of the United States is gaveled into its first session of 2005 -- and watch as Republican Party power brokers attempt to do the same thing, right here in the little ole U. S. of A. From where I sit, I see no difference. Any attempt to weaken ethics rules is a brazen assault on the citizens of this nation. The politicians behind this (and it's pretty much a GOP team effort) might just as well spit in our eyes and strike us with their ivory walking sticks. Such is the way the rabble has always been dealt with.

The ethics rules end-run does, however, affirm what we all should know; politicians believe themselves to be above the rest of us and to be somehow immune from the slings and arrows of outrageous behavior. But will our red-state brethren get it? I doubt it.

Somehow, for some reason none of us can cypher, the "self righteous right" will not see the contradiction in all this. They will readily accept that men and women who want to eviscerate ethics rules (which are essentially, the moral struts which support us all) can, at the same time, blather on about prayer and Jesus and the Bible in every other sentence. They will quote scripture, then run and hide behind an array of weak "rules" when they "sin" in office. To update an old joke, "Jesus Saves! DeLay scores on the rebound!"

It's a pathetic way to start the new year and the new Congress. From my cynical perch, I don't see it getting much better in the months ahead.