Tom DeLay. Hammered.

steve clemons:

"DeLay's role is the starring one that has undermined this nation because he kept Congress from behaving as Congress should vis-a-vis the White House: as a check on power. This has been the reality throughout American history, even when one party controlled the legislature and the executive -- until Tom DeLay.

I once told a group of gay rights activists, followed the next day by a group of climate change-focused environmentalists, followed by a large group of young American globally-engaged internationalists that the very best thing that they could all work on rather than their pet projects was to work to unseat Tom DeLay. Sue him. Unearth the scandals. Keep the pressure up.

Tom DeLay has done more than nearly any other person to harm the machinery of democratic process in America -- and his indictment for campaign finance conspiracy and fall today gives me some hope that some of what this nation has lost is recoverable. DeLay will fight his accusers -- but he won't be back in party leadership. The long knives are out to get him -- and it has been overdue."

* "(DeLay) said the Republican colleagues who had worked under him recognized that he was the victim of "a political witch hunt." He did not answer any questions." (link)
ding. dong the witch is dead.

""DeLay is the chiropractor from Hades--you can hear the arms break from my side of the floor. Dreier will twist them, but if they need them broken, they'll still bring in the expert," said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks).
[snip]
Potentially most threatening for Republicans is the convergence of the DeLay indictment with other ethical controversies swirling around the party-among those the investigations involving Frist and lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Even before the DeLay indictment, Democrats had signaled that they intended to emphasize ethics in next year's election — much as Republicans did when they campaigned against the long-time Democratic House majority in the early 1990s. Tellingly, both Pelosi and Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean used the phrase "culture of corruption" in their responses to DeLay's indictment.

The DeLay indictment and other ethics allegations "allows us to have a debate not about big government vs. small government, but honest government vs. corrupt government and that is vastly better for Democrats," says Democratic pollster Guy Molyneux."
[snip]
Two dozen former DeLay staffers now have prominent positions as lobbyists all over Washington.

Conservatives hailed DeLay's accomplishments in this area, saying the former majority leader helped build something permanent that has transformed the way Washington works..

"It is now part of the culture," said Grover Norquist, who has been at the center of efforts to cut taxes.

Ethics watchdogs, however, have a different view." (link)