Noted

Hot off the presses: John Kline wrote a letter to the Star Tribune to clarify some facts about his support for Tom DeLay.

Actually, Kline was responding to this letter:

Good riddance to disgraced Republican Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas and his corrosive brand of politics (Star Tribune, April 4).

As for Second District Rep. John Kline, R-Minn.: His constituents await his public apology for his shameful vote to allow DeLay to retain his leadership position while under criminal indictment.

And here's Kline's response:

An April 5 letter writer neglected to mention that I was one of the Republicans who voted to reinstate rules stripping Rep. Tom DeLay of his leadership position when he came under indictment. Most recently, I was the first Republican from the Minnesota congressional delegation to call for DeLay to step aside from his leadership post.

Apparently Kline wants everyone to know that although he voted in November 2004 to weaken House ethics rules so that DeLay could keep his leadership post even if indicted, he eventually reversed himself and voted to restore the rules after Democrats and the media embarrassed him into it.

So Kline wants everyone to know he flip-flopped on ethics. Got it.