It's Republican versus Republican nationally, too: "GOP Tries to Outrun Scandal"

By Lee Russ

Thursday, January 05, 2006 at 12:47 PM

Even better than reading about Colorado Republicans finally beginning to stand up to the zealots in their own party [see this post ] is reading about national Republicans finally understanding that their own butts are firmly hooked on a piece of twisted barbed wire.

As you know if you've ever been hooked on barbed wire, wriggling around to free yourself usually means some blood letting, and a good, sharp pain in the ass.

But let the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel tell the story:

....
The spreading Abramoff scandal is considered so politically toxic that some Republicans urged the party Wednesday to make broad changes if it hoped to preserve its control of Congress in November's elections. These moves include the quick selection of a permanent House majority leader -- which would block DeLay's efforts to return to the position -- and a party commitment to champion lobbying reforms.
.....

Among those calling for change within the Republican Party was Vin Weber, a GOP lobbyist and former House member from Minnesota with close ties to the Bush administration. "If they don't take fairly dramatic action and reclaim the mantle of reform, [Republicans] are going to lose the House," Weber said.

And former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said he thought DeLay was no longer in a position to be House leader. "They have to elect a new majority leader," Gingrich said. "My bet is they will."
.....
In the Senate, Frist said that after consulting with members, he would "examine and act on any necessary changes to improve transparency and accountability for our body when it comes to lobbying."
[End excerpt]

I can't help it, I have to say this: So Frist is going to get a study going to find out if any changes need to get going to keep the integrity of the Senate going.  Doesn't that just make you feel all safe and warm and snuggly? If only Mr. "diagnosis via videotape" would GET GOING himself--like back to stock market or doing surgeries, or finding some other zealots to apologize for, the country as a whole would be a lot better off.