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To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (186)	11/17/2004 11:06:38 AM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 190

GOP moves to keep Tom DeLay in power By CARL HULSE AND DAVID E. ROSENBAUM THE NEW YORK TIMES WASHINGTON -- Fresh from election gains, House Republicans moved yesterday to consider a change in party rules that would prevent their majority leader, Tom DeLay, from having to step down from his leadership position should he be indicted in an investigation in Texas. As House and Senate members returned to finish remaining business for this year and organize for 2005, an aide to Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas, said Bonilla had filed a proposal to overturn a Republican rule that requires a member of the leadership to step down temporarily if facing a felony indictment. Party lawmakers could take up the proposal today. Republicans adopted the rule in the 1990s, when they were in the minority and were trying to put the focus on investigations of prominent Democrats. They say a rule change is justified because the investigation involving DeLay, who was re-elected majority leader yesterday, is politically inspired. The Republicans say they want to eliminate the chance for a prosecutor to be able to force DeLay from his post by obtaining an indictment. DeLay's office said he was not taking a stand on the initiative, which his fellow Republicans discussed in a party conference. House Democrats said the potential change reflected the opposition's view on ethical behavior. "If Republicans believe that an indicted member should be allowed to hold a top leadership position in the House of Representatives, their arrogance is astonishing," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California said in a statement. As House Republicans dealt with the DeLay question, Senate Democrats officially chose new leadership to steer them through the more heavily Republican Congress. And a veteran Senate Republican battled to save his chairmanship in a first test of new conservative power. As a small group of anti-abortion demonstrators prayed and protested outside the Dirksen Senate Office building, longtime Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania met privately with his colleagues trying to persuade them to allow him to become chairman of the Judiciary Committee. After one meeting, the current chairman, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, a supporter of Specter's, said: "Senator Specter handled himself very well. I expect him to be the next chairman. I think it will be resolved satisfactorily." Specter, who was re-elected Nov. 2, has been under fire because of his statement at a news conference after the election that judicial nominees who opposed legal abortions would have trouble winning Senate confirmation. As that drama was playing out, Senate Democrats met in private and officially selected Harry Reid of Nevada as their leader, replacing Tom Daschle after he lost his quest for re-election.