Republicans say they don’t want to ignite a full-blown ethics war like the one that dominated the House in the 1990s, but there’s another cause for their caution: If they were to file a complaint against Murtha or anyone else, Democrats would retaliate by filing their own complaints against Reps. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) and Don Young (R-Alaska).
In short, their own house isn't clean enough yet. However, if I were Pelosi and Reid (and I'm obviously not), I wouldn't wait for the GOP to force me to clean up my act--especially when I promised to do just that two years ago. I'd start now and lead the way. If they were to relentlessly push ethics in their own party they would be able to cut the GOP off at the knees.
But they haven't done that, and they won't. There's too much of a chance that they'll lose their near supermajority if they do. Heaven forbid they should actually have to work a little and maybe even compromise! No, it's better to hang on to the crooks in the party than have to give an inch to the GOP.
Unfortunately it's probably the smart move. The GOP isn't doing enough on their side to clean up their own house, and so won't have enough of a leg to stand on.
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