The Tom DeLay ethics issue has been a pretty hot issue down here in District 22. For some reason, the polling houses regularly call me. Perhaps it is because I am willing to talk to them - provided that I am not in the middle of something important.

Recently, several calls have focused on how much I am aware of the 'serious ethical breaches' by the Texas Representative and if that has any effect on my vote. I've looked into the issues and really did not see anything of substance. Now the House Standards of Official Conduct Committee investigated and found these same accusations against DeLay as "unsubstantiated":

Bell's complaint alleged serious ethics abuses. The first allegation accused DeLay of "soliciting campaign contributions from Westar Energy in return for legislative assistance on the energy bill." Here the committee found the charge wholly without merit. There was no improper solicitation of contributions and DeLay performed no impermissible special favor for Westar. The committee noted the "significant gap" between Bell's rhetoric and the reality.

DeLay was admonished, however, for attending a golf fundraiser in June 2002 at which Westar executives were present, because it created an "appearance" that donors were enjoying special access to a member of Congress while energy legislation was pending. Every member of Congress is vulnerable to this same admonishment should their whereabouts at any specific time come under the same intense scrutiny as Tom DeLay's. Two years later, by the way, the energy legislation is still pending.

A second count alleging wrongful conduct with respect to DeLay's role in a Texas political-action committee was deferred because the committee recognized that whatever his involvement had been, it was unrelated to his officials duties as a member of the House.

The third count was based on a request by DeLay's office to the Federal Aviation Administration to locate the aircraft carrying fleeing Democratic state lawmakers being sought by Texas law-enforcement officials. This count was dismissed with the committee noting that the incident had already been thoroughly investigated by the FAA's independent inspector general, who found that no procedures were violated and that the information sought was publicly available on the Internet. The Department of Justice's inspector general also investigated the charge that DeLay's office had improperly involved the department and concluded that it had not.

Good to know. DeLay is very conservative, a true friend of Israel and one of the few Republicans with a backbone. Those are the reasons why there is such a large target on his back.