Friday, October 21, 2005
Pure Genius
I have refrained from commenting much on the Tom DeLay indictment. It's still early in the process, so much yet may be revealed. But between the clear partisanship of the DA, said DA's on-camera pontification (I"m gonna be a movie-star), the grand jury shopping, and the fact that DeLay may have been indicted for something that wasn't even a crime at the time he allegedly committed the crime, I'm beginning to think there's a greater chance Ronnie Earle will end up behind bars at this point than Tom DeLay.
Don't get me wrong, I have no particular love for Tom DeLay. I had some pretty harsh words for him a few weeks ago. I think the Congressional leadership was due for some change, and I think DeLay had become something more of a hindrance than a help. Considering the slow but steady change in direction so far under temporary Majoiry Leader Roy Blunt, perhaps the GOP is better off without DeLay.
But there was always something fishy about the indictments, and nothing that has developed over the past month would lead me to believe that this is anything but a purely political hitjob. And I thought that some conservatives were being unfair when they essentially wanted to leave DeLay in the dust and use the indictments as an excuse to cast him aside. I believed - and still believe - that if these charges are, as I suspect, completely bogus, then we should hope that DeLay is cleared and then, and only then, should we re-examine his worthiness as Majority Leader. And we should judge his worthiness in the light of his political capabilities, and not repeat the Trent Lott incident where we used a flimsy bit of media hype to cast aside a leader we had deemed no longer capable (and I was guilty of supporting that bit of piling on).
At any rate, we shall see how events will unfold. In the meantime, Tom DeLay pulled off one of the greatest PR jobs in political history. Many Democrats salivated over the prospects of having a mug shot that they can use for the 2006 campaign. It would have been one of those dreary profile shots, and it would have been used in every television ad next Fall.
Well, Delay gave them his mugshot:
Tom DeLay is now my hero.
Don't get me wrong, I have no particular love for Tom DeLay. I had some pretty harsh words for him a few weeks ago. I think the Congressional leadership was due for some change, and I think DeLay had become something more of a hindrance than a help. Considering the slow but steady change in direction so far under temporary Majoiry Leader Roy Blunt, perhaps the GOP is better off without DeLay.
But there was always something fishy about the indictments, and nothing that has developed over the past month would lead me to believe that this is anything but a purely political hitjob. And I thought that some conservatives were being unfair when they essentially wanted to leave DeLay in the dust and use the indictments as an excuse to cast him aside. I believed - and still believe - that if these charges are, as I suspect, completely bogus, then we should hope that DeLay is cleared and then, and only then, should we re-examine his worthiness as Majority Leader. And we should judge his worthiness in the light of his political capabilities, and not repeat the Trent Lott incident where we used a flimsy bit of media hype to cast aside a leader we had deemed no longer capable (and I was guilty of supporting that bit of piling on).
At any rate, we shall see how events will unfold. In the meantime, Tom DeLay pulled off one of the greatest PR jobs in political history. Many Democrats salivated over the prospects of having a mug shot that they can use for the 2006 campaign. It would have been one of those dreary profile shots, and it would have been used in every television ad next Fall.
Well, Delay gave them his mugshot:
Tom DeLay is now my hero.
# posted by Paul Zummo : 2:24 PM
