politics

WASHINGTON - Three Minnesota congressmen Friday added their names to a list of House Republicans calling for elections to replace ousted Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

Reps. John Kline, Mark Kennedy and Jim Ramstad broke ranks with the embattled Texan as two other congressmen circulated a petition calling for elections for a new leader when the House reconvenes Jan. 31.

DeLay was forced to step down in September after he was indicted in Texas for illegally laundering corporate money through a political action committee. He has scoffed at the allegations as politically motivated and vowed to regain his job.

"What I think we need out of this is stability and consistent leadership," said Kline, the first of the Minnesota Republicans to speak out. "It's my hope that Tom DeLay will recognize that he needs to concentrate his efforts and attentions on [his] legal battles."

DeLay's spokesman, Kevin Madden, said DeLay "appreciates that a majority of his colleagues recognizes that he remains committed to fulfilling his responsibilities as majority leader and that he'll be quickly exonerated in Texas."

DeLay hanging tough

DeLay, he said, "won't give in to what is essentially character assassination by insinuation."

Kline said his decision was spurred by Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff's guilty pleas to conspiracy and fraud charges in Washington and Miami this week. Abramoff agreed in return for leniency to become the star witness in a Justice Department influence-buying inquiry that could touch implicate several House members.

"Is Tom DeLay involved in this?" Kline said in a phone interview. "What's the extent of his involvement? What about his staff?

"The very fact that all those questions are being asked makes it more difficult for us to focus on policy and get going down the road [and] ... makes it less likely that Mr. DeLay's legal troubles will be resolved" soon, he said. "The climate right now is bad. It's bad for my party."

Abramoff frequently stressed his close ties to DeLay while courting potential lobbying clients. He hired several former DeLay aides, including Michael Scanlon, whose guilty plea last November opened the way to the prosecution of Abramoff.

Kline agreed to sign a petition being circulated by Reps. Charles Bass, R-N.H., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., demanding a vote of the Republican caucus.

The petitioners need 50 signatures to force a vote. An aide to Bass said two dozen had been obtained within a few hours Friday afternoon.

Kennedy, who is running for the Senate, had not signed but said in a statement that the party's "first order of business" should be electing a permanent leader and that he "cannot envision a circumstance where Tom DeLay could once again assume his leadership position."

Ramstad said the party needs to elect a new leader "to restore the trust and confidence of the American people."

Withholding judgment

The fourth Republican in Minnesota's delegation, Rep. Gil Gutknecht, was in South Dakota discussing rural energy and water issues Friday. His spokesman, Jon Yarian, said Gutknecht "is not surprised" by the development, but will withhold judgment until he sees the petition.

Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., signaled that he would not stand in the way of elections that could produce changes in several leadership posts. "This is consistent with the speaker's announcement ... that House Republicans would revisit this matter at the beginning of this year," said his spokesman, Ron Bonjean.