14 REPUBLICAN DEAD-ENDERS VOTE NO ON ETHICS REFORM

Yesterday the Senate passed an ethics bill regarding lobbyists and campaign finance disclosure. It could be a lot better but it's way better than what we have now. It passed overwhelmingly and pretty bipartisanly. Only 14 of the worst die-hard reactionary wingnuts opposed it. You want to know who? Well not a single Democrat opposed it and the only Republicans who dared to were the most arrogant and untrustworthy bunch of all:

Robert Bennett (R-UT)
Richard Burr (R-NC)
Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Larry Craig (R-ID)
Michael Crapo (R-ID)
Jim DeMint (R-SC)
John Ensign (R-NV)
Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
James Inhofe (R-OK)
Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Trent Lott (R-MS)
John McCain (R-AZ)

That bill represents the most far-reaching attempt at ethics reform since Watergate, although it is not as aggressive as some legislators wanted in restricting the use of earmarks and in requiring the disclosure of donation bundling. The legislation, which had been stalled until negotiators worked out a deal in recent days to get it passed before the August recess, is a priority for Democrats, who won control of Congress in part because they had decried what they called "a culture of corruption" under Republicans.

The legislation would end secret "holds" in the Senate, which allow a single senator to block action without disclosing that he or she has done so. Members of Congress would no longer be allowed to attend lavish parties thrown in their honor at political conventions. Gifts, meals and travel funded by lobbyists would be banned, and travel on corporate jets would be restricted. Lobbyists would have to disclose their activities more often and on the Internet. And lawmakers convicted of bribery, perjury and other crimes would be denied their congressional pensions.

Even a bag of wind like Flip Flop Mitt says he's "disappointed" with the crooks in the GOP.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, in Iowa on Thursday, took aim at his own party, calling for a higher standard for ethical conduct in the White House and Congress.

The former Massachusetts governor proposed stripping federal employees convicted of official misconduct of their government pensions.

"I've been dis- appointed in these last many years, whether it's Congress, the Senate, the administration, whether it's Republican or Democrat. Of course, I'm most disappointed in my own," Romney told reporters after a campaign event in Urbandale. "I expect more of the people in our party."