Lobby - Ethics reform a sham!
ABC news reports: By 217 to 213 votes, the House of Representatives passed a mediocre lobbyist and ethics reform bill. This was a Republican drafted bill.
"I can't tell you how disappointed I've been this past week," Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., a proponent of stronger reform, said at an earlier news conference. "I don't think Republicans invented corruption, but we're in charge."
All but 8 Democrats opposed this bill in favor of more stringent alternatives. But, knowing they have no control over such legislation, it was easy enough for them to call for stringent alternatives which might have caused them cold sweats if they actually had any possibility of passing. I suspect they took the high moral ground knowing they couldn't hold it in order to reap the Public Relations benefit.
