Maybe -- maybe not, but that isn't newsworthy right now. Tom Delay is. Your tactic is analogous to defending a murderer because someone else committed murder once. It's silly -- either ignore the thread or stick to the subject. Can you defend Tom Delay or the decision the committee made without introducing unrelated material? I think this was a pretty sleazy move, since the GOP made a lot of noise about wanting to separate themselves from the low-life democrats. Apparently, it was more a matter of convenience than ethics.