An old article

This was an article that Dan wrote in June of 2005 and originally posted at KentuckyDems.com:
Anne Northup's Choice
Written by Dan Borsch

One would think that our elected congresswoman would always vote with the best interests of Metro Louisville at heart. Today Congresswoman Northup has to decide if she is going to side with the average person in Louisville who wants honest leadership in Congress or is she going to side with those who have given large campaign donations to her campaigns.

The current leader of the House of Representatives is Tom Delay (R-TX). Unfortunately the House Ethics committee reprimanded Congressman Delay three times last year and now he has been accused of taking $100,000 golf trips overseas at the expense of lobbyists and foreign interests. Congressman Delay’s former staffer has been accused of bilking millions from clients and one of Delay’s political action committees is being investigated by a Texas Grand Jury.

When Republicans and Anne Northup came to power in 1994 based largely on the "Contract with America" they promised to change the way Washington was run and to elect leaders with no taint of scandal. If Congresswoman Northup is still committed to those principles then she should take action and ask for the resignation of Tom Delay from any leadership position, for a non-partisan ethics committee investigation, and, should Delay be found guilty of any violations, his immediate resignation from Congress.

This should be a clear cut case of putting the interests of all Americans to have ethical representatives before partisan interests; however, Rep. Northup is deeply indebted to Congressman Delay, his leadership buddies, and his cronies.

Congresswoman Northup has accepted $35,000 in contributions from Tom Delay and the political action committees he has created. And I am sure that the $14,000 from Tom Delay’s compatriot Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Il), and the $14,000 from majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO), will be remembered when Congresswoman Northup decides whether to continue supporting the ethically challenged Delay. Maybe if Congresswoman Northup has any doubts about her decision she can talk to some of her fellow representatives such as Debroh Pryce (R-OH) who has directed over $52,000 to Congresswoman Northups campaigns (and in doing so faced FEC complaints); Dick Armey (R-TX) $35,000; Trent Lott (R-MS) $15,000; Newt Gingrich (R-GA) $10,000; Bill Frist (R-TN) $10,000; John Boehner (R-OH) $20,000; Rob Portman (R-OH) $17,000; Jim McCrey (R-LA) $16,000; Jerry Lewis (R-CA) $15,000; Don Nickles (R-OK) $14,500; David Dreier (R-CA) $13,500; Mike Rogers (R-MI) $10,000; Tom Reynolds (R-NY) $10,000; Bill Thomas (R-CA) $10,000. Maybe even Mitch McConnell, $15,000, or Hal Rodgers, $16,000, can offer some home-grown advice.

These representatives, and many others, have invested tens of thousands of dollars in helping to elect Anne Northup, I am sure they will be more than willing to offer some unvarnished advice to help her make a decision. If she still needs to ask the advice of some other power players in Washington she might want to ask the Realtors and their PACS first. Collectively they have only given or spent on her behalf around $1.2 million dollars, maybe, they even know Tom Delay personally and will vouch for how outstanding a citizen he is. I am sure they will at least return her call.

If Congresswoman Northup just doesn’t feel the need to get involved with this dirty business, maybe she will have extra time to look into what is going on with gas prices. However, my advice is to call some friends first: Ashland Inc., $35,000; Chevron-Texaco, $12,500; Exxon, $12,500; Occidental Petroleum, $9,500; Conoco Phillips, $4,500; BP, $2,000; and Haliburton, $7,000.

With all the tough business of being a Congresswoman, Northup may just want to go to a nice relaxing restaurant. Maybe Outback, $17,500, or Cracker Barrell, $11,000, will give her a discount.

Unfortunately this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the money our Congresswoman has taken from fellow representatives, fortune 500 companies, and other special interests. And all since only 1998! I guess it is wishful thinking that all this money has not influenced the Congresswoman, but something seems rotten when Federal Express, $20,000, gives huge amounts of money to the Congresswoman from the district with UPS’s shipping hub.

Anyways, here is to hoping that Mrs. Northup still represents Louisville’s best interests and that she has not been swayed by a few million dollars amongst friends and that Tom Delay and his friends have not bought political protection for himself.