You know it's bad when...

by dj moonbat

Now, it's hardly any secret to regular TLC readers that Tom DeLay is a scumbag. He plays fast and loose with the rules when it's time for him and his cronies to do some deals, as the House Ethics Committee pointed out recently. Then he'll turn around and use the rules to crush opposition and consolidate power, as we saw in the recent gerrymandering fiasco.

Josh Marshall has been keeping track of the latest DeLay shenanigans--an overt attempt to spare The Hammer the loss of his leadership position when Ronnie Earle the Austin, TX District Attorney who roots out political corruption, comes after him. But this is to be expected. Crazy bloggers.

But you know that DeLay's gone too far when David Brooks starts lamenting his ward-heeler antics:

If Republicans are going to recover the reformist spirit, they're going to have to do more than lessen the influence of Tom DeLay.

But let's face it, the problem starts there. Tom DeLay is a scandal waiting to happen. He casts himself as the enemy of Washington, but he's really a conventional (if effective) pol who wants to use dollars to entrench power. He represents the greatest danger the Republicans face, bossism. He wants to be the G.O.P.'s Boss Tweed.

Deep in the recesses of their minds, many Republicans know that voters around the country may never hear of Tom DeLay, but if the Republicans become just another self-dealing power clique, there will be hell to pay.

Of course, I'd love to see DeLay drag the whole damned party down with him, but it now would appear that he's lost the "moderate" wing. And all it took was three outrages in a year.