There’s not much I can really say about this Chron article on Tom DeLay. As sleazy and unprincipled as he is, he didn’t get where he is without being a damn good politician, and we’d do well to remember that. His fellow Republicans in Congress enjoy the power he’s given them too much to care about anything else, so until such time as he becomes a liability, he’ll have their support.
The best part about this article comes at the end, where John Culberson gives us a transcendant moment of unintentional comedy.
Next year, when the House votes on a national retail tax, a balanced budget amendment and other pet projects of House Republicans, DeLay will get the credit, said Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston.
The Republican Party advocating a balanced budget amendment is like Bernie Kerik calling for the recriminalization of adultery. Their borrow and spend mantra have so wrecked the country’s finances that cutting the entire discretionary portion of the federal budget won’t be enough to achieve balance. They’re going to have to raise taxes somewhere to do it, and if they think that substituting a national sales tax for the income tax will magically fix things, then we really ought to consider calling for random drug testing in Congress. I triple-dog dare them to push for a balanced budget amendment. They don’t have the guts to try, and they don’t have the means to succeed. But I thank them for making me laugh. I needed it.
As a mostly conservative, it really pisses me off that you have a point. There was a time that your observation could be made about the Democrats. A “National Retail Tax”? Now this a tax I can hardly wait to spend my money on!