Posted on 03/15/2005 6:14:03 PM PST by CyberAnt
One of the most senior observers of the US Congress is David Espo who holds the title of "Special Correspondent" for the Associated Press. He has been covering the House and Senate since about 1980 which means he has seen pretty much all of the good, the bad, and the ugly which has occurred over that quarter-century.
Over the past few days Espo has published a couple of pieces regarding the status of the Congress which, taken together, are a pretty complete overview of the current state of play.
They include a report on status of Tom DeLay's position as Majority Leader in the House; and an overview of the surprising amount of success Republicans are enjoying in moving favored legislation through the process.
On the Tom DeLay issue, the Democrats appear to be attempting to repeat the strategy which forced Newt Gingrich from the Speaker's Chair after the 1998 elections.
The Democrats went after Newt with something every day: Floor speeches which attacked him in the most repulsive personal terms; ethics complaints by the score; and tens of millions of dollars in paid television ads designed only to demonize him.
After the 1998 elections, the GOP Members of the House were worn out defending him and he had to step down. If the Democrats thought that cutting off the head would kill the body of the Republican Conference in the House, they were wrong. They got Dennis Hastert - the anti-Newt - a thoughtful, non-confrontational man who gave the Democrats no openings - ethical, or temperamentally - to attack him.
Net result? The Republicans have held control for now five straight Congresses and there is no reasonable expectation Democrats can get it back any time before 2012 at the earliest.
If they make defending Tom DeLay too tiring for House Republicans - or too tiresome for their constituents - what happens? An extremely talented set of Republican Members are ready to step in - all as different from Mr. DeLay as Speaker Hastert was from Newt.
So what can the end-game for the Pelosi Democrats be? Getting rid of DeLay would cause some heartburn inside the Beltway, but not many other places.
For the price of it, the House Democrats, who have proffered little if anything in the way of legislative ideas, will be exposed as being wholly barren intellectually, and totally absurd politically.
Have at it, Nance. [For those in Rio Linda - this is Nancy Pelosi]
Espo's piece on the status of big legislative initiatives was captured in his quote of Oklahoma Congressman, Tom Cole, "'The amount of legislation that's passing is pretty big,' said Rep. Cole, a deputy whip. In addition to the class action lawsuit bill and bankruptcy measure', he said, 'I think we'll get an energy bill, a highway bill and maybe' legislation to resolve asbestos claims."
[Note: I have a client with an interest in asbestos legislation, about which, I will not write.]
The Congress has sent to the President a bill significantly limiting class-action lawsuits and is about to send along the bankruptcy bill. Espo writes: Democrats contend both bills were low-hanging fruit for Republicans, the result of partisan compromise over several years. Even so, the nation's trial lawyers, a key portion of the Democratic fund-raising base, opposed the lawsuit bill. And according to knowledgeable officials, they recently received assurances that Democrats intend to fight harder against other GOP priorities, including legislation to limit awards in medical malpractice cases.
And just over the next snowdrift, the Senate Republicans have constructed an attachment to the budget allowing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. That is a concept which failed, according to Espo, in 2003 on a 52-48 vote, when the GOP held a two-vote margin not the 10-vote bulge they now enjoy following the 2004 elections.
While the national press, the Sunday shows, and the Democratic National Committee are focused like the Hubble telescope on Social Security and Tom DeLay; Congressional Republicans are pretty much having their way with everything else.
On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: Links to the Espo pieces on Rep. DeLay and the legislative agenda, plus a link to the Washington Post piece about DeLay's travel; a really foolish Mullfoto and a Catchy Caption which, if you thought the Prince Charles bit the other day was in bad taste, I urge you not to view.
-- END --
Copyright ©2005 Richard A. Galen
If you want to see the "Secret Decoder Ring" page - just click on the link at the top of the article.
The problem is that they really have nothing. That makes the attack incredibly unlikely to succeed.
DeLay is popular at home despite the daily rantings about him in the Houston Chronicle. His crime is not being a crook, but being a conservative who doesn't back down in the face of opposition of newspapers and the Democrat Party. Even in personal life, he's generous and reaches out to the disadvantaged.
It's purely a political play, but without any substance to go on, it won't work. They haven't found a wedge issue to divide DeLay from his conservative base.
I can assure any worried parties that this attack will fold like a bad poker hand very soon. Ronnie Earle is the last remnant of when Texas was a one-party DemonRat state. Travis county is still majority Dim, but that is changing.
This is the last dying gasp of a corrupt regime.
If anyone in America can take a punch to the gut, Delay can. Ronnie will be sorry he picked this fight.
Lots of lefties squawking about DeLay the last week or so, but none of them are talking much about what exactly the charges are. Very telling.
As to the charges of corruption that the Dems are levying at DeLay, I don't know enough about the background of them to offer any sort of informed opinion as to the truthfulness of the charges.
However, I find the level of hypocracy stunning, as the same Dems that are railing against DeLay for possible foreign or domestic influence-buying were quite silent during the Buddhist Temple fundraiser, the selling of various bedrooms in the White House by Clinton/Gore, the coffees at which campaign donations were exchanged for access to the Prez and VP and other assorted Democratic fundraising scandals.
You're right - they keep trying - but nothing works.
3 times they have brought a case before the ethics committee - and 3 times there has not been any reason to charge him.
Somehow the media fails to mention and "no charges" portion.
And .. isn't Frost involved in this somehow ..??
"I find the level of hypocracy stunning"
But .. it's becoming the norm - and I don't like it.
Heh heh heh!
And the Texas legislature is about to remove the Travis County DA's jurisdiction. Imagine if a locally elected DA in Washington DC had the jurisdiction to prosecute members of Congress. Can you imagine how that power would be misused against Republicans?
I think a DA should investigate Frost.
Wasn't it Frost who sent his aide into DeLay's office to steal a copy of the redistricting plan - and the guy was caught on video in DeLay's office.
What ever happened with that ..??
It wouldn't surprise me. Redistricting cost him his job.
Have you seen the AP photo of DeLay at last night's Republican Congressional Committee dinner? The caption (read it carefully!):
House Minority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, walks to his seat after being introduced at the National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel, Tuesday, March 15, 2005 in Washington. Earlier on Tuesday, DeLay strongly denied wrongdoing in connection with two overseas trips financed by outside organizations, and said he is eager to discuss the facts with leaders of the House ethics committee. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The link:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/050316/480/dcpm10503160138&e=7&ncid=705
I saw it on powerlineblog.com
and I haven't seen it anywhere on FR.
I think a DA should investigate Frost.Yeah, I second that.
But I'm not holding my breath waiting for Ronnie Earle.
You are right, the hypocrisy never fails to amaze, but in my opinion the "hypocrisy gap" is part of the reason the conservative movement has been so successful, we hold ourselves to a higher standard and voters believe and respect us. I am really worried about the "Win at all costs" mentality that I see on many of the Delay threads, chiefly because winning in the long haul is more important than winning every little battle along the way, and the way to win in the long run is to stick to principles.
That said, Delay has certainly earned a fair hearing, but the details that I have read are, prima facie, very disturbing, and his response has not been encouraging. Yesterday his statements denying wrongdoing offer hope but at the same time he refused to make them in front of cameras, which leads me to believe he is already trying to avoid an "I did not have sex with that woman" moment. And it is not all just accusations, some of the evidence has been published in the newspaper, such as the receipts that show his staffers accompanied him to London and their expenses were paid for by a lobbyist, which is specifically forbidden by House ethics rules. How did it hurt us at all when Trent Lott apologized and stepped down? Answer: it didn't, the movement is stronger than any leader and the moment a leader becomes a distraction to the cause he or she should step out of the limelight.
Yes it did!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.