Remembering the lesson of Rostenkowski

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Nobody talks much about Dan Rostenkowski these days.

Ten years ago, Rostenkowski, a Democrat from Chicago, was chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, responsible for most of the important fiscal matters affecting the nation.

That changed in 1994 when he was indicted on corruption charges.

Rostenkowski immediately surrendered his post as committee chairman.

We note this decade-old history here to point out that when Rostenkowski was indicted, he and his party knew that he could no longer be a leader in Congress. Not only would he be busy crafting a legal defense or arranging a plea bargain, everyone knew that it was just wrong for someone accused of corruption to be a political leader.

What everyone understood 10 years ago seems to have been forgotten by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, who last week decided that even if Majority Leader Tom DeLay is indicted by a Texas grand jury, he can keep his leadership post.

An indictment against DeLay is likely. Three of his associates and eight corporations already have been charged in an investigation into alleged illegal corporate contributions to a political action committee associated with DeLay.

Until last week, the Republican caucus had rules declaring that any leader under indictment would lose his leadership post. With DeLay's possible indictment in mind, the rules were changed to allow house Republicans to decide a leader's fate on a case-by-case basis. Saving DeLay seems more important than finding leaders whose integrity is not being challenged.

That is a sad decision, suggesting that Republicans cannot do better with a leader who is not facing criminal charges than with one indicted for a felony.

Republicans counter that a Democratic prosecutor in Texas should not be allowed to determine who leads their party in Congress.

Nonsense.

There is nothing new in prosecutors from either party investigating and charging people with breaking the law. That was the case when Rostenkowski was forced out of leadership. It is the case today.

Neither party should be led by people charged with violating the law.

Rostenkowski was defeated for re-election in 1994, and in 1996 he pleaded guilty to fraud. He served 17 months in prison.

DeLay has not been charged or convicted of anything, but Republicans should consider the prospect of the House majority leader being led off in handcuffs.