Come November, we need to show Kenny Hulshof the door.
For those of you in other areas, you can check here to see if your representative is on the ethics committee. (Yes, I know. Congressional ethics. Oxymoron.) And in Kenny-boy Hulshof's case, it's like having the fox guarding the henhouse.
Dear MoveOn member,
Your Representative, Kenny Hulshof, is facing a moment of truth. Hulshof sits on the House Ethics Committee, which meets tomorrow, Wednesday, September 22nd, to decide whether to investigate Tom DeLay, the House Republican Leader, for corruption.
DeLay is already facing a possible indictment in Texas, and an Ethics Committee investigation could force him to resign his leadership post. It would be a huge victory for fairness.
But Hulshof has received $14,000 from a PAC controlled by DeLay. That, combined with partisanship, could make it hard for Hulshof, a Republican, to do the right thing.
Unless we all demand it. Please call him right now:
Representative Kenny Hulshof
Phone: 202-225-2956
Make sure his staffers know you're a constituent. Then tell them:
"We need an outside counsel to investigate Rep. Tom DeLay."
Please let us know you're calling, at:
MoveOn
Few people are as central to right-wing control in Washington as Tom DeLay. He's right up there with Bush, Cheney, and Karl Rove. Nicknamed "The Hammer" for his ruthless style, DeLay's in charge of ramming the right wing's agenda through Congress.
DeLay was the mastermind behind last year's outrageous redistricting in Texas; he refuses to allow a vote in the House on limiting media consolidation, because it will win; and when other Congresspeople question Bush's war policy, he accuses them of undermining our troops and surrendering to terrorists. DeLay has literally locked House Democrats out of negotiations on major bills like Medicare, and held votes open for hours so arms can be twisted with threats and bribe offers -- and that's according to fellow Republicans. [1]
Right now, we have a chance stop him. In Texas, DeLay's immersed in a campaign finance scandal that could get him indicted. And on Capitol Hill, he's facing the first formal ethics complaint in seven
years. [2]
The problem is, four of the Ethics Committee's five Republican members, including Rep. Hulshof, have received campaign money from DeLay. [3]
We've got to demand an outside counsel to investigate charges that DeLay:
- Funneled illegal corporate contributions to GOP candidates for
the Texas legislature, through the RNC and a group called TRMPAC.
- Improperly involved a federal agency in partisan politics, by
asking the Federal Aviation Administration to track down Texas
legislators.
- Illegally solicited a $25,000 campaign contribution from Westar
Energy Corporation, in exchange for supporting legislation that
would benefit the company.
- Solicited $50,000 from Enron for the Texas redistricting effort,
described below. [4]
Representative Hulshof is one of just 10 Representatives in the country, and just 5 crucial Republicans, who will decide whether or not DeLay is investigated.
Please call him now:
Representative Kenny Hulshof
Phone: 202-225-2956
Tell him:
"We need an outside counsel to investigate Rep. Tom DeLay."
Please let us know you're calling, at:
MoveOn
Last summer, DeLay forced an unprecedented mid-term redrawing of the map defining Texas' Congressional districts, likely moving five Democratic House seats into the Republican column this fall.
The story's a bit complex, but here's the basic outline:
1. Every 10 years, after the census, House district maps are redrawn.
Texas' legislature did this in 2001, completing the job.
2. DeLay raised massive sums of money for Republicans running for the
Texas state legislature. Some of this money was apparently from
corporate sources, illegal under Texas law.
3. Benefiting from this money, Republicans took over the Texas state
legislature in 2002.
4. On DeLay's instruction, the state legislature redrew the map of
federal House districts, to replace the one made after the census.
A new map without a new census was unprecedented, and totally
un-democratic. The new map was drawn to favor Republicans, and it
disenfranchised 1.4 million African-American and Latino voters.
5. A few principled Democrats still in the state legislature refused
to convene, in an attempt to prevent a vote adopting DeLay's map.
6. DeLay had these legislators threatened with arrest, so they left
the state. MoveOn members raised a million dollars to help them,
while DeLay called in the FAA to track them down.
7. Ultimately, one of the Democrats buckled and went home, enabling
the state legislature to convene and approve DeLay's map.
8. DeLay's map goes into effect this fall, and Republicans are
expected to pick up 5 House seats now held by Democrats, cementing
DeLay's hold on power. Unless we stop him.
DeLay's strong-arm tactics are a reminder that the right wing will do anything to gain and keep control, regardless of the cost to our democracy.
It's a pattern we've seen again and again -- in impeachment, the 2000 election, and in the 2003 special election for governor in California. All these events shared the common thread of Republicans overturning legitimate elections by any means at their disposal.
It's time to fight back.
Please call Rep. Hulshof now, and demand that the Ethics Committee appoint an outside counsel to investigate Rep. Tom DeLay:
Representative Kenny Hulshof
Phone: 202-225-2956
Thank you, for all you do.
Sincerely,
- Carrie, Joan, Lee, Marika, Noah, Peter, and Wes
The MoveOn.org Team
September 21st, 2004
P.S. Yesterday's New York Times called for an outside counsel to investigate DeLay:
The House's Fear of Tom DeLay
NY Times
These editorials have also called for an outside counsel:
Miami Herald: Unethical ethics panel
Miami Herald
(registration required)
Austin American-Statesman: Outside investigation of ethics charge warranted
Austin American-Statesman
(registration required)
Footnotes:
[1] A bribe was attempted while the Medicare bill was held open:
Chicago Suntimes
Slate
[2] The official summary of the formal complaint against DeLay:
MoveOn pdf
[3] AP: Four on Ethics Panel Accepted Delay Money
ABC
[4] Houston Chronicle: DeLay's national committee documents Enron donation
Houston Chronicle
These articles also detail DeLay's fundraising abuses:
Washington Post: DeLay's Corporate Fundraising Investigated
Washington Post
Dallas Morning News: As DeLay raises cash, critics raise questions
MoveOn (registration required)
Your Representative, Kenny Hulshof, is facing a moment of truth. Hulshof sits on the House Ethics Committee, which meets tomorrow, Wednesday, September 22nd, to decide whether to investigate Tom DeLay, the House Republican Leader, for corruption.
DeLay is already facing a possible indictment in Texas, and an Ethics Committee investigation could force him to resign his leadership post. It would be a huge victory for fairness.
But Hulshof has received $14,000 from a PAC controlled by DeLay. That, combined with partisanship, could make it hard for Hulshof, a Republican, to do the right thing.
Unless we all demand it. Please call him right now:
Representative Kenny Hulshof
Phone: 202-225-2956
Make sure his staffers know you're a constituent. Then tell them:
"We need an outside counsel to investigate Rep. Tom DeLay."
Please let us know you're calling, at:
MoveOn
Few people are as central to right-wing control in Washington as Tom DeLay. He's right up there with Bush, Cheney, and Karl Rove. Nicknamed "The Hammer" for his ruthless style, DeLay's in charge of ramming the right wing's agenda through Congress.
DeLay was the mastermind behind last year's outrageous redistricting in Texas; he refuses to allow a vote in the House on limiting media consolidation, because it will win; and when other Congresspeople question Bush's war policy, he accuses them of undermining our troops and surrendering to terrorists. DeLay has literally locked House Democrats out of negotiations on major bills like Medicare, and held votes open for hours so arms can be twisted with threats and bribe offers -- and that's according to fellow Republicans. [1]
Right now, we have a chance stop him. In Texas, DeLay's immersed in a campaign finance scandal that could get him indicted. And on Capitol Hill, he's facing the first formal ethics complaint in seven
years. [2]
The problem is, four of the Ethics Committee's five Republican members, including Rep. Hulshof, have received campaign money from DeLay. [3]
We've got to demand an outside counsel to investigate charges that DeLay:
- Funneled illegal corporate contributions to GOP candidates for
the Texas legislature, through the RNC and a group called TRMPAC.
- Improperly involved a federal agency in partisan politics, by
asking the Federal Aviation Administration to track down Texas
legislators.
- Illegally solicited a $25,000 campaign contribution from Westar
Energy Corporation, in exchange for supporting legislation that
would benefit the company.
- Solicited $50,000 from Enron for the Texas redistricting effort,
described below. [4]
Representative Hulshof is one of just 10 Representatives in the country, and just 5 crucial Republicans, who will decide whether or not DeLay is investigated.
Please call him now:
Representative Kenny Hulshof
Phone: 202-225-2956
Tell him:
"We need an outside counsel to investigate Rep. Tom DeLay."
Please let us know you're calling, at:
MoveOn
Last summer, DeLay forced an unprecedented mid-term redrawing of the map defining Texas' Congressional districts, likely moving five Democratic House seats into the Republican column this fall.
The story's a bit complex, but here's the basic outline:
1. Every 10 years, after the census, House district maps are redrawn.
Texas' legislature did this in 2001, completing the job.
2. DeLay raised massive sums of money for Republicans running for the
Texas state legislature. Some of this money was apparently from
corporate sources, illegal under Texas law.
3. Benefiting from this money, Republicans took over the Texas state
legislature in 2002.
4. On DeLay's instruction, the state legislature redrew the map of
federal House districts, to replace the one made after the census.
A new map without a new census was unprecedented, and totally
un-democratic. The new map was drawn to favor Republicans, and it
disenfranchised 1.4 million African-American and Latino voters.
5. A few principled Democrats still in the state legislature refused
to convene, in an attempt to prevent a vote adopting DeLay's map.
6. DeLay had these legislators threatened with arrest, so they left
the state. MoveOn members raised a million dollars to help them,
while DeLay called in the FAA to track them down.
7. Ultimately, one of the Democrats buckled and went home, enabling
the state legislature to convene and approve DeLay's map.
8. DeLay's map goes into effect this fall, and Republicans are
expected to pick up 5 House seats now held by Democrats, cementing
DeLay's hold on power. Unless we stop him.
DeLay's strong-arm tactics are a reminder that the right wing will do anything to gain and keep control, regardless of the cost to our democracy.
It's a pattern we've seen again and again -- in impeachment, the 2000 election, and in the 2003 special election for governor in California. All these events shared the common thread of Republicans overturning legitimate elections by any means at their disposal.
It's time to fight back.
Please call Rep. Hulshof now, and demand that the Ethics Committee appoint an outside counsel to investigate Rep. Tom DeLay:
Representative Kenny Hulshof
Phone: 202-225-2956
Thank you, for all you do.
Sincerely,
- Carrie, Joan, Lee, Marika, Noah, Peter, and Wes
The MoveOn.org Team
September 21st, 2004
P.S. Yesterday's New York Times called for an outside counsel to investigate DeLay:
The House's Fear of Tom DeLay
NY Times
These editorials have also called for an outside counsel:
Miami Herald: Unethical ethics panel
Miami Herald
(registration required)
Austin American-Statesman: Outside investigation of ethics charge warranted
Austin American-Statesman
(registration required)
Footnotes:
[1] A bribe was attempted while the Medicare bill was held open:
Chicago Suntimes
Slate
[2] The official summary of the formal complaint against DeLay:
MoveOn pdf
[3] AP: Four on Ethics Panel Accepted Delay Money
ABC
[4] Houston Chronicle: DeLay's national committee documents Enron donation
Houston Chronicle
These articles also detail DeLay's fundraising abuses:
Washington Post: DeLay's Corporate Fundraising Investigated
Washington Post
Dallas Morning News: As DeLay raises cash, critics raise questions
MoveOn (registration required)
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