“Only get mad on purpose”

One of the interesting possibilities resulting from the House “fruitcake” flap last week involving Ways and Means Committee Chair Bill Thomas (see here for some background) is that it just might give the national Democratic Party a platform on which to campaign for regaining control of Congress. Here’s Dick Armey to explain it to you:

“There’s an old adage in politics,” said former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, a retired Texas Republican who helped lead Republicans to their majority. “Only get mad on purpose.”

Armey said Thomas, whom he called “abrasive,” handed Democrats an opportunity to showcase their new strategy to wrest back control of the House.

“The theme is 10 years of one-party rule is enough,” Armey said. “They (Republicans) have had control for 10 years, they’ve gotten arrogant, they demean the institution, they demean democracy by virtue of the heavy-handed way they run the House, minority rights are downtrodden, and it’s time, Mr. and Mrs. America, to make a change.

“That isn’t a whole lot different from the case we made in ’94, after 40 years,” Armey said, recalling the stunning GOP takeover engineered by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Keep an eye on that. Republicans had some advantages in 1994 that Democrats may not have next year, but motivation and message shouldn’t be among them.

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