January 19, 2006

Mehlman Punches...And Admonishes

RNC chair Ken Mehlman -- the man who never adds the "ic" to "Democrat" -- on Friday plans to blast the rival party as weak, wobbly and stuck in the past.

But in his remarks, set for the RNC's annual meeting in DC, Mehlman tempers his partisan stemwinding by acknowledging that Dem leaders do indeed "love their country" and by warning his own party to root out internal corruption before public trust is further compromised.

There are plenty of applause lines; of Judge Sam Alito's nomination hearings, Mehlman says "Some of modern liberalism's most disappointing features were also on display." (He's referring to Ted Kennedy.)

The narrative spine of the speech consists of his assertion that Republicans learn from the past to prepare for today's challenges while Democrats can't break free from the chains of special interest liberalism.

"There is one last area in which we must remember the lessons of the past," Mehlman says. "One of the oldest lessons of history is that power corrupts."

Mehlman asks his fellow Republicans to join him in taking a stand against corruption, right here, right now."

"As Republican chairman, I am proud of my party and loyal to our members. But if Republicans are guilty of illegal or inappropriate behavior, they should pay the price and suffer the consequences."

More of Mehlman's reform talk after the jump.

Senator Reid was wrong when he called the Abramoff affair a Republican scandal, even after receiving financial support from some of the tribes involved in the controversy.

The response to this scandal should not be partisan hypocrisy.

The public trust is more important than party. Which is why the first solution to the problem is rooting out those who have done wrong, without regard to party or ideology.

Next we must remember that we must be the party of reform.

We have a proud record of reform: Welfare reform, education reform, tax reform, the Department of Homeland Security, Patriot Act, litigation reform, energy reform, regulatory reform.

But elections are about the future and what we will do, not the past and what we've done.

And so this year, we must earn our trust again by recommitting ourselves to reform.

Our leaders in the House and Senate are crafting new laws on lobbying to ensure transparency and protect the public interest. That’s as it should be.

We also must reform 527s, so that everyone plays at the same level, and billionaires can’t once again use loopholes to try to buy elections.

But most importantly, we must learn the lesson of history.

And history teaches us that the best tool to reduce corruption is to reduce the power of the government here in Washington and make sure it rests with the people.

A government that is as big as ours, that does as much as ours, that controls so much of our lives, will always be susceptible to corruption.

Posted at 05:20 PM

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