This story doesn’t use the word, but I’m wondering how many times we’ll be reading articles on Tom DeLay that include the word “defiant” in the near term. Quite a few, I’d venture.
Next question: Which of these people are kidding themselves?
DeLay, R-Sugar Land, said he has arranged a way to work with Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., that will comply with the spirit of the House regulation that forced DeLay to relinquish his post.
Hastert has said that DeLay no longer will attend official meetings of the Republican House leadership while he faces the felony charge of conspiracy for allegedly violating Texas election law by funneling corporate donations to candidates for the state House.
But, DeLay remarked, “The speaker certainly asked me to continue our partnership.”
DeLay’s statements seemed to fly in the face of remarks made earlier in the day by Rep. David Dreier, a California Republican selected by his congressional colleagues to help Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., serve as majority leader while DeLay’s criminal case is pending.
On CBS’s Face the Nation, Dreier, chairman of the House Rules Committee, said of DeLay: “He’s not going to still run things. He knows he’s not going to run things. But he’s clearly a member of Congress and he’s a very important part of the team.”
Also, moderate Republican Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut told CNN on Sunday he was no longer comfortable with DeLay as party leader.
“We got elected basically by saying we would live by a higher moral standard, and I don’t think recently we have,” Shays said. “Tom’s problem … is continual acts that border and go sometimes beyond the ethical edge.”
On the same program, Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, said the DeLay affair “isn’t just an embarrassment for the Republicans. It’s the Congress itself that’s on trial.”
Shays and Leach often speak against the grain of the Republican leadership.
DeLay, however, told the Chronicle that his clout in Congress has not been diminished.
One of these things is not like the others. The Stakeholder has been keeping an eye on Zach Wamp of Tennessee as a potential skunk at the garden party for DeLay and his still-loyal followers, but I’m willing to bet he’s not the only one.
I’m glad to see that the idea that DeLay himself is just a part of the problem, a problem that won’t be fixed by his departure, is getting some play on the op-ed pages. This is the man who has stepped in for The Hammer.
Although the two have very different personalities, [Roy] Blunt has modeled his political career on DeLay’s, becoming in many respects a replica of the former majority leader. Like DeLay, Blunt quickly set up multiple political committees to establish a power base in the House.
Blunt has strengthened and enlarged DeLay’s “K Street” alliance with Washington lobbyists. The two have a similar network of major corporate donors. Both have extensive financial ties to the Washington lobbying firm Alexander Strategy Group. Some of Blunt’s actions have raised ethical issues.
Different person, same misplaced priorities, same ethical void. It’s as simple as that. As Ezra says:
In some ways, losing him is worse, as DeLay was an easy stand-in for the corruption he’d created, and his personal proximity to scandal and ethics allegations sometimes proved a useful, if minor, check on his behavior. Blunt will have no such restrictions; if anything, he’s worse than his predecessor. And that should be the message. This is not about Tom DeLay, it’s about the house that DeLay built. The job for Democrats is to convince the public that it’s time to tear it down.
If they can do that (no guarantees, that’s for sure), the Dems can put themselves in a position to make big gains in 2006 as the Republicans did in 1994. It’s a big if.
Well, okay, there is at least one Democrat talking about this in broader terms.
Taking out Tom DeLay would boost the morale of the Democratic Party and, I dare say, improve the representation for the 22nd Congressional District — but it would prove a pyrrhic victory on its own. Everyone but the scoundrel wants fair elections we can all trust. Everyone wants a democracy to hold the corrupt accountable. Taking on Tom DeLay without accomplishing these goals is an empty pursuit.
I worked for ethics reform long before Tom DeLay and I crossed paths, but our stories have become inextricably linked. I’m sure that I will have to answer questions about Tom DeLay for the rest of my life. Someday, I would like to be able to say that even though he has
repeatedly demonstrated his passion for power at the expense of ethics and integrity — to the detriment of those he serves — we all owe him a great debt. Without the scandals he caused, the people of Texas would not have demanded real ethics reform and reclaimed our government from the stench of corruption and special interests.
And I hope he gets to say that some day, too.
Finally, for a little finely honed sarcasm to go with the outrage, one turns to Julia. Enjoy.
