All that needs to be said about Tom DeLay's comeback tour

The story may have been on yesterday's front page (obviously, a slow news day), but nobody cared. Seems only fitting to me.

One point to make:

The verdict is out on whether he can remain a power broker, particularly with his felony charges of campaign money-laundering in Texas still unresolved. Many House Republicans appeared relieved when DeLay was replaced as majority leader by Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, touted as less polarizing and more inclusive than his combative predecessor.

"I don't think he's going to have nearly as much luck creating a position for himself within the Republican Party," said Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson. "The Republican Party, I think, now believes it needs new faces, that the party ... sees no merit whatsoever in reminding people that Tom DeLay was one of their major figures in the last decade."

But University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato offered a different view.

"That's Washington," he said. "They all come back sooner or later."

DeLay, Sabato said, "is still very well regarded by many conservative activists. They think that he was gotten by the prosecutor in Texas and by all the enemies he built up."

I think Tom DeLay will make himself some money on the talk show and lecture circuit, but I don't see him being a force within the Republican Party again. The impression I get is that he burned an awful lot of bridges with the way he handled his departure from the House and the race for CD22 last year. I don't think anyone will defer to him any more, and I don't think anyone feels like they owe him anything any more. I also don't think his "Everyone Sucks But Me" book will win back anyone he lost.

Needless to say, I'll be happy to be proven wrong about that. The more prominent and visible Tom DeLay is, the better it is for the good guys. Honestly, all he needs is a mustache to twirl and a damsel to tie to some railroad tracks.

For more, see Cragg Hines, who read DeLay's underperforming as well as underwhelming book so you don't have to, and Think Progress for a lesson in reading comprehension, DeLay-style.

UPDATE: Okay, Jack is in on this, too. Some things can only be resisted for so long.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on March 22, 2007 to Scandalized!