April 11, 2005
No Delay In The War On DeLay!
The Main Stream Media (and assorted lefties) are at war. The object of their war is the defeat of one Tom Delay (R-Texas) currently (but for how long?) Majority Leader in the United States House of Representatives.
DeLay had the unmitigated gall to play politics just as the Democrats have played politics for years. How dare he? Just "who in tarnation" does he think he is? Harry Reid? The current batch of "ethics" charges against DeLay include having relatives on the payroll and taking junkets paid for by someone else. This is, according to the MSM, unacceptable, totally unacceptable. After all, those acts taken by a Republican are absolute proof of corruption. Whereas those same acts taken by a Democrat really don't mean anything.
Proof? OK, let us try this on for size (from The Beltway Buzz):
The Los Angeles Times correctly notes that numerous members of Congress have family members on the payroll. But Harry Reid truly leads by example. In the words of the LAT:Note the numerous children's vocational choices, note the "...more than $2 million in lobbying fees..." Does that sound like a reason to "convict" DeLay? Or does it sound like a reason to take an equally close look at Senator Reid?“Harry Reid is in a class by himself. One of his sons and his son-in-law lobby in Washington for companies, trade groups and municipalities seeking Reid's help in the Senate. A second son has lobbied in Nevada for some of those same interests, and a third has represented a couple of them as a litigator.â€Â
“In the last four years alone, their firms have collected more than $2 million in lobbying fees from special interests that were represented by the kids and helped by the senator in Washington.â€Â
“So pervasive are the ties among Reid, members of his family and Nevada's leading industries and institutions that it's difficult to find a significant field in which such a relationship does not exist.â€Â
Of course, the MSM can't do this alone, they must have "Republican" allies or it won't seem to be a bi-partisan effort. And sure enough, they will find them among Republicans who are more interested in "being liked" than in standing up to the MSM or who are more interested in keeping their Democratic Votes in their races than in backing their own Party. Witness one Christopher Shays (R-Conneticut) piles on with:
"Do I think Tom DeLay will be the majority leader by the end of this term? No," Shays said. "I don't think Tom DeLay is going to survive. He goes to the edge and he goes beyond . . . Even knowing there's a microscope on him, he continues to do these things."Way to go Shays, keep your seat in a Democrat Leaning District by piling on a fellow Republican. In fact, The Moderate Voice has this and more. Thoughts Online also calls for DeLay's head (and the Moderate Voice is sure to point out that TO is a "conservative blogger." On the other side however, is PoliPundit's Jason who notes:
"I’d call Rep. Shays a “media whore,†but, quite frankly, that would be an insult to whores."
Shays, MV and TO aren't the only ones either, the MSM is doing everything it can to find other centrist or left leaning RINO's to pile on as well. Robert Novak writing in Real Clear Politics has the goods on the MSM also The NYTimes, greylady, newspaper of record and all that stuff tried to get a fellow Republican Bob Livingston to castigate DeLay:
"On March 24, former Congressman Bob Livingston was sent an e-mail by a New York Times editorial page staffer suggesting he write an op-ed essay. Would Livingston, who in 1998 gave up certain elevation to be House speaker because of a sexual affair, write about how Majority Leader Tom DeLay should now act under fire? In a subsequent conversation, it was made clear the Times wanted the prominent Republican to say DeLay should step aside for the good of the party.Livingston in effect declined by responding that if he wrote anything for the Times, it would be pro-DeLay. But this remarkable case of that august newspaper fishing for an op-ed piece makes it appear part of a calculated campaign to bring down the single most powerful Republican in Congress. The Democratic establishment and left-wing activists have targeted DeLay as the way to end a decade of Republican control of the House."
Stay tuned folks, this is going to get nasty.
Tip of the Chapeaux to Dr. Pat at Dr. Sanity
Posted by GM Roper at April 11, 2005 07:52 AM | TrackBackDear Mr. Corner (hah),
Glad you're back. Interesting how one party attempts to pillory another for doing the very same things previously...only much, much worse.
Meanwhile, the evil work of Professor Christensen of North Carolina Wesleyan College continues apace...or maybe not.
Posted by tad at April 11, 2005 12:17 PM
My son, who likes to make me get upset, put the car radio on NPR this morning on the way to school. I am thinking of an appropriate punishment.
Nina Tottenburg (or, however you spell it) was talking about Delay and basically said that he hasn't done anything legally or ethically wrong but that he should quit because he has become a lightning rod for criticism. So much for due process and truth.
Shouldn't the people who are doing the attacking be the ones to quit? If just being attacked is reason to be forced out, I hereby announce an attack (verbally only, of course) on Hillary Rodham. So, Hillary, give up already?
By the way, I heard on Laura Ingraham today a clip where Hillary was being introduced as a speaker at a Democratic fund raiser this weekend. The head of the group introduced her as Hillary "Rodman" Clinton--not to be confused with Dennis. I can see a lot of similarities, though.
Posted by Woody at April 11, 2005 01:31 PM
Woody, how about making him listen to Tottenburg ALL THE TIME via recording her show. That ought to do it. :-)
I used to try to irritate my dad by telling him I was going to join the Navy (He was career Army), he said Great, come on, I'll drive you down to the recruiting office. Smart man my dad. Perhaps when you get in the car with your boy next time, flip the radio to NPR... You can always not listen but it's gotta hurt that he can't get your goat that way. :-)
Posted by GMRoper at April 11, 2005 01:46 PM
Why do I seem to get the message from your writing, that if DeLay is unethical, but some democrats were also unethical, that makes it OK?
And if one or more republicans agree that unethical is just that, unethical, then they are courting democrats? As you say "truth is politics is perception" And it seems that your perception is "Republican party, right or wrong, just ignore the wrong, because those nasty old democrats are worst"
Posted by JAmes Melbert at April 15, 2005 12:14 AM
Re: your comments in defense of Tom Delay.
So much for "Truth, Honesty and Integrity"
Those seem to be convenient platitudes to be put on display when a democrat does bad. Do you really, really excuse Delay's excesses because he is a republican?
Posted by James S. Melbert at April 15, 2005 12:25 AM
James Melbert writes: "So much for "Truth, Honesty and Integrity." Those seem to be convenient platitudes to be put on display when a democrat does bad. Do you really, really excuse Delay's excesses because he is a republican?
The first question should be; are they really "excesses" or are they part of the entire congressional culture wherein congress critters can take "junkets" at whim paid for by those with business before congress? The second question should be is what DeLay is doing any different than what others, including Democrats, do in terms of putting relatives in paid staff positions using either federal tax dollars or campaign dollars? And the last question should be is the mainstream media jumping on DeLay because HE is a Republican?
I would venture to say that there is a culture of corruption either real or perceived, in congress. I am proudly a conservative and most of the time I vote Republican. But that has nothing to do with pointing out the hypocracy of the attacks on DeLay. He is being attacked not because of his "excesses" but because he is Republican. If the attacks were not hypocritical in nature, they would point out with equal fervor the "excesses" of any member of congress and the point of the "news stories" would be the corruption and not the member's political affiliation.
Posted by GMRoper at April 15, 2005 05:58 AM
The following is pure balony written by GM hisself:
"He (Delay) is being attacked not because of his "excesses" but because he is Republican. If the attacks were not hypocritical in nature, they would point out with equal fervor the "excesses" of any member of congress and the point of the "news stories" would be the corruption."
Delay is being attacked, because he is the current "star" of the ethics program. Who else had the power to change the entire Ethics committee because he was "tired of being peresecuted". Ergo make the Committee totally impotent. Damn the Ethics, full speed ahead.
Of course there are members of congress that are also morally currupt. But to protest that Delay should be left alone, because he is just one out of many, is sick. To say he is persecuted because he is a republican is even sicker!
Posted by James Melbert at April 16, 2005 10:09 PM
