'Screw the intern AND the taxpayer AND the rules!'

Atrios comments on the new changes that the House Republicans are trying to push through. All partisanship aside, I'm not sure I understand WHY they are doing this. How does this demonstrate that they are the party of accountability? The Republicans now have NO right to criticize the excesses of the Democrats in power; they are becoming just as bad. A brief excerpt from the Common Dreams article quoted in greater detail at Atrios' site:
"This threat is particularly distressing because it comes at a moment when the ethics committee has finally begun taking some steps to enforce ethics rules. Despite the considerable difficulty of sitting in judgment of a powerful colleague, particularly House Majority Leader DeLay, the members of the ethics committee this year started the process of showing that members can be held accountable for ethical improprieties. The committee must continue along that road and strengthen the rules, not further cripple them."
Please click on the link in the post title or check out the link to Atrios for more.