Sadly, I'm finding I agree with you. I'm furious that my donations to Delay's election campaign are finding their way into his legal defense coffers.
Why in God's name would you fight like crazy to win a primary only to drop out of the race entirely a short time later? It stinks to high heaven.
I'll give the man his kudos for being a superb organizer and champion of the Republican majority (although I was stunned by his statement that there was no fat to cut from the pork bills?!?!?), but I think he's going to be nailed. I admired Rep. Cunningham too, and was deeply disappointed by him-- guess I better gear up for another disappointment :-(
Best we can do is cut loose the damage and forge ahead. To his credit Delay is cutting himself loose, although I would have preferred he'd done so before sinking a ton of our money into a primary. I'd also like this Congress to have the spectre of Democrat control spur them into re-embracing their core values (small spending, small govt, tight borders). Can I help if I'm an optimist?
Since optimism is (was) one of the prime driving motivations in the foundation of this country, no, you are not wrong at all. Kudos to you!
DeLay, however, to me, is symptomatic of a bigger problem: the GOP, with control of all three visible branches of government, does nothing it says it will. It does not rein in federal spending, it does not patrol and enforce the borders, it creates beuacratic entities that would make any FDR worshiper salivate (DHS, No Child Left Behind, etc). It does not stand on prinicple when it comes to entitlement reform (No Nuclear Option, Gang of 14, Prescription Drug Programs to bribe the Baby Boomers and remnants of the "Greatest Generation", etc), and only remembers it's fiscal conservatism when presented with a bill to rebuild New Orleans (a democratic stronghold where you couldn't get a conservative elected if you offered free hookers and booze at the polls).
The only "republican victory" that one could point to is packing the Supreme Court, and that's of dubious value (it was certainly predicated upon the assumption that Roe V. Wade would be revoked post-haste).
If that's what repubicanism and conservatism now stand for (division of spoils, kow-towing to a particular interest group, playing public relations games to remain in power), then two things need to be done: we either have to chuck the current crop of republicans and conservatives overboard, or we should just abandon the whole process and continue to be democrats (small 'd' intentional) in everything but name.
I for one don't want to see that happen. If means DeLay, Frist, McCain, etc., have to be casualties, and we lose control for the government for a bit, then so be it. This party needs an enema.