The Dedly Blog

The Hammer Has Fallen

"Something happens to Republican leaders when they get control of the Government... Republicans in Washington have a habit of becoming curiously deaf to the voice of the people. They have a hard time hearing what the ordinary people of the country are saying. But they have no trouble at all hearing what Wall Street is saying. They are able to catch the slightest whisper from big business and special interests."

- President Harry Truman on the campain trail in 1948

To be fair, the same thing could be said about Democrats. Right now, it's just the Republican Party's turn at the wheel of scandal.

Former House Majority Leader, Tom Delay, has announced that he will resign sometime this Spring from Congress. For the man of total confidence in the face of criminal indictment to cave in now speaks volumes. While every man is innocent until proven guilty, it would appear that Delay's defense team isn't convinced that they'll be able to convince a jury of his innocence.

Mr. Delay has said that, "I refuse to allow liberal Democrats an opportunity to steal this seat with a negative personal campaign. The voters of the 22nd district of Texas deserve a campaign about the vital national issues that they care most about and that affect their lives every day and not a campaign focused solely as a referendum on me."

But why resign now? If his statement about wanting to avoid a campaign all about him were truly the case, shouldn't he have resigned his post when he was indicted last year? And why not before the Republican primary in his home district? Wouldn't it have been a better idea to let his party's replacement hav as much time as possible to run a "I'm not Tom Delay" campaign against the Democratic opponent? I think that the more likely case is that the guilty plea from Tony Rudy, Delay's former Deputy Chief of Staff and counsel, hit too close to home. While no criminal connection was made between Delay and Rudy in the plea, one has to wonder if there's something there that can scare even the fearless Hammer.

While I'm happy to see Delay go, I can not deny that the man was brutally effective in pushing his party's ideology. If he's cleared of these charges and skates through the Abramoff inquiry without a scratch, I see him running for office again. Governor Delay? Senator Delay? President Delay? Don't rule him out just yet. He may turn out to be as pesky a survivor as the critters he exterminated before his career in politics.

The lesson to be learned here, and it's one that's almost always forgotten by politicians everywhere, is that power corrupts. And Congressman Delay was a very powerful man indeed.

posted by DED at 8:41 AM