Boy, those editorialists sure do enjoy bashing Tom DeLay, don’t they? I’ve hoped all along that the Democrats could nationalize the Congressional elections by tying various DeLay rubber stamps to him and his sleaze. It’s happening now, so we’ll see if it has any effect.
Big Sunday stories which show the disingenuousness of DeLay’s self-distancing from TRMPAC probably don’t help him much, either. (Via The Stakeholder.)
This maneuver by Nancy Pelosi reminds me of this attempt to adjourn one of the redistricting special sessions. that one didn’t work, but it surely elevated a few heart rates. Pelosi appears to have been more successful. Via Atrios.
I made it through The Hammer on the plane ride to Newark. Dubose and Reid think that it’ll be the Scanlon/Abramoff/Reed Indian gambling scandal that ultimately sinks DeLay. For sure, if you read their account, you’ll see how close Scanlon and Abramoff were to DeLay. It’s not hard to imagine that they’ll have something to say (assuming they ever do say something) which might lead back to their old boss and good buddy.
I’ve talked to lawyers on the Hill that say exactly the same thing about the Casino Jack thing.
Reality is that like none of the Bill Clinton allegations or charges made any Democrat more likely to vote Republican, none of the editorials against Tom DeLay are going to make any of his backers more likely to vote for Mike Fjetland or Richard Morrison.
What it does is embolden the other side ie “That vast right wing conspiracy is picking on my guy” or “The liberal elitest media is at it again let’s all get more motivated to help our guy now that he needs it more than ever.”
Why not nationalize the election based on specific policy proposals, a la the Contract with America?
Err, oh yeah, that wouldn’t be a winner for Dems. 🙂
Problem is, I don’t think most normal voters even KNOW DeLay nationally, not like they knew Newt Gingrich (who was much easier to demonize). One can motivate the base with him, of course, and in some districts in formerly battleground states where Senator Kerry is less competitive than the campaign would like, that’s probably a good idea. A necessary idea even, if a repeat of 2002’s GOP gains is to be avoided.