House Ethics Reversal - Repugnican Talking Points

Raw Story has a major scoop with its acquisition of a House GOP talking points memo in which the Repugs outline a strategy to spin the repeal of the DeLay rule as a high-road approach to dealing with "Democrat" obstructionism.

Even before the measure was taken to the full Rules Committee in the House—or the full House—Republicans were circulating talking points seeking to portray the reversal on ethics rules as Democratic foul play, RAW STORY has learned.

The talking points, reproduced below, suggest that Democrats sought to derail the ethics process, though it was Republicans who forced through a controversial ethics page in January that gave the Republican majority the upper hand on a committee that was supposed to be bipartisan.

The good news is that the strategy has failed completely. Every story that I have seen tags the repeal of the DeLay rule as a defeat for Republicans and a major moral and political victory for Democrats. The Repugs reversed themselves on the DeLay rule, reportedly, to get press to move on from the issue. It is unlikely that the GOP talking points will get absorbed into the coverage before the news cycle moves on. Not that Rush Limbaugh and Fox "News" won't give it their best shot.