When our electeds are wrong, we call them out. When they’re right, we thank them, no matter which party they’re in. So, to both Andy Barr and James Comer, we say:
Thank you for your principled vote last night on the ethics issue.
As you have probably heard, on Monday night the US House Republican Caucus passed a rule moving the Office of Congressional Ethics from its independent status to being part of the House Ethics Committee, run by the controlling party. In other words, they gutted the ethics office, rendering it impotent and pretty much a joke.
Even while our other Kentucky Republican representatives were apparently voting for the bill (we assume, since they won’t comment otherwise), Barr and Comer both voted against it. Why did they do so? Their answers range from the need for bi-partisan reform to bad public relations (both of which were accurate statements.)
There will be opportunity in the future to disagree with both of these gentlemen, no doubt. But for tonight, we say Kudos to Andy Barr and James Comer for doing the right thing, even as most of their fellow Republicans did not.
