January 9, 2006 5:23 AM

And it couldn't have happened to a nicer and more worthy demagogue

Ethics Issues Snared GOP’s Champion: DeLay’s Focus on Fundraising Powered Party Gains But Led to Problems

It worked simply. On one side of the machine, a hose vacuumed the pockets of large corporations, wealthy individuals and legions of lobbyists on K Street, all instructed by DeLay to contribute only to Republicans. Out the other side, at some later date, came legislation of interest to many of the donors. Inside the machine, twisting its knobs and pulling its levers, was DeLay — who was unabashed about his pay-to-play philosophy and relentless in enforcing his political rules.

Democracy was never meant to be about the rich, the well-heeled, or the well-connected. Democracy as envisioned by the Founding Fathers was to be about ensuring that Americans could live in a free society, secure that their government would work to preserve their best interests, their security, and their right to live free from tyranny. Of course, human nature being what it is, American-style democracy has over the years been transformed into something resembling representative oligarchy- government of, by, and for those wealthy enough to purchase their own political justice.

No one has personified this bastardized version of democracy than former DUMB@$$ AWARD wiener Tom DeLay (#128, 7.28.04), For DeLay and his minions, politics is a “pay as you go” proposition. No pay, no play…because, as any lobbyist will tell you, money is the mother’s milk of politics. American democracy is, quite frankly, the best government that money can buy. While some of us more idealistic sorts might decry the sale of public services to the highest bidder, this is the way business is done in Washington…and business is GOOD.

DeLay’s tenure in the congressional leadership, which came to a decisive end with his announcement yesterday that he would not try to regain the leadership post, was marked by an extraordinary record of political accomplishment. From Dec. 6, 1994, until last year, the former pest exterminator from a Houston suburb was the go-to guy in the House for legislative favors, perks, committee chairmanships and election cash.

“Tom DeLay and I have had our differences over the years, but he is one of the most effective and gifted leaders the Republican Party has ever known,” said Rep. John A. Boehner (Ohio)

In this case, of course, “effective and gifted leader” is the literal translation of “effective and gifted fundraiser”, because without the money raised by DeLay, the GOP would still be the annoying and ineffectual minority party in Congress. And what does all of the money collected by DeLay mean? It means a constant, never-ending stream of quid pro quos. Anyone who tells you that they are donating money to Republicans (or ANY politician) out of sheer altruism and without any expectation of receiving anything in return really needs to put down the bong and pull off the road.

Of course, raising the sort of money DeLay has means living on the razor’s edge of ethics and legality. It’s the sort of thing one can really only do for so long. Otherwise, you either willingly and frequently break the law, or, as in DeLay’s case, you begin to view yourself as indestructable and invincible. Either way, it’s a recipe for disaster.

But DeLay’s leadership was undermined over time by a blurring of ethical lines in the handling of money by his aides and advisers, his taste for the lifestyle of the super-rich, and his take-no-prisoners approach to political disputes in a town built on compromise. A lawmaker who cast himself as an icon of moral conservatism, DeLay came increasingly to be regarded as a symbol of special-interest lawmaking. With an election looming in 11 months, his colleagues began to fear the consequences.

Although DeLay was admonished by the House ethics committee as early as 1999 for retaliating against a trade association that hired a Democrat, for the most part his rigidly partisan style was welcomed by Republicans. Not until 2004 did the first major cracks in the DeLay political edifice appear. In three reports, the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct rebuked him for asking federal aviation officials to intervene in a Texas political spat, for improperly pressuring a fellow Republican to vote for a Medicare drug bill, and for creating the appearance that Westar Energy Inc. received special consideration in exchange for campaign donations.

The committee called on him to “temper your future actions to assure you are in compliance” with House ethics rules. But DeLay blamed the rebukes on malevolent Democrats, and his supporters retaliated by ousting the Republican chairman of the committee and tying up its operations in a prolonged dispute over staffing.

More serious damage was done by an ethics inquiry in DeLay’s home state, which led last September to his felony indictment and forced him to step aside temporarily under party rules. At issue was one of DeLay’s more brilliant achievements, hailed by his fellow Republicans for solidifying their control of the House — orchestrating a party takeover in the Texas legislature that led to an extraordinary redrawing of congressional districts and the election of five more Texas Republicans to Congress in 2004.

An icon of moral conservatism, and yet he had no problems with indulging his taste for the finer things on the dime of rich Republican donors. Apparently, “hypocrisy” is not to be found in the GOP dictionary. Only a Republican can be getting his palms greased, repay that generosity with favors and favorable legislation, and claim the moral high ground. Hmm…apparently, there’s no entry for “shame” in the GOP dictionary, either.

It is nice to know that karma can still play a role in politics, though it can take a good long while to work it’s magic. Few politicians deserve what they are getting more than Tom DeLay…and if there is any justice in this world, he’ll soon become someone’s “girlfriend” (ah, the joys of homosexual prison rape) in a federal lockup. Finally, your tax dollars at work….

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on January 9, 2006 5:23 AM.

Oh, the manhunts you'll launch.... was the previous entry in this blog.

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