Tom DeLay's "Great Documents Of Freedom" Has Some Curious Omissions

by Steve

In the midst of all his other troubles this week, we should thank Tom DeLay for taking the time to educate children that the 1994 Contract with America was on a par with the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Magna Carta as the “great documents of freedom.” Through DeLay’s handy website, children can learn from The Exterminator and The Hammer all about the Constitution, freedom, and good government.

But DeLay elevates the 1994 Contract with America to pretty lofty company.

After all, the Declaration of Independence was only a document that launched a revolution in which thousands died for their freedom; the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were only the cornerstones to the American democracy. But the 1994 Contract With America apparently was even higher than those piddling speed bumps according to DeLay because it called for:

·A fiscal responsibility act that DeLay’s GOP House has ignored for four years now;

·An anti-crime package that DeLay’s GOP House has gutted the funding for;

·An tax credit assistance package for the middle classes that DeLay’s GOP House has managed over time to shift the tax burden from the rich to the middle class;

·A national security act aimed at restoring American credibility around the world, when in fact DeLay himself and his GOP House have done everything possible to reduce even further American credibility and moral leadership around the world;

·A job creation and wage enhancement act that has done nothing to raise worker wages, but has managed to enrich the wealthy;

·A tort reform measure that tilts heavily in favor of business against the interests of the individuals that DeLay espouses freedom for;

·Congressional term limits, which DeLay has never pushed for seriously in the last eight years.

And while DeLay claims he is trying to instruct students about the great documents of freedom by elevating a cynical, never fully-implemented political tool like the Contract With America with the other truly important documents about personal freedom, his omissions from this list are telling.

Whereas the Contract was deemed by DeLay of being worthy for elevation to the level of the other "Great Documents Of Freedom", he apparently couldn’t find the web space to also include:

·The 1964 Civil Rights Act;

·The 1965 Voting Rights Act;

·The Emancipation Proclamation.

But then, these documents weren't issued by equality and freedom icons like Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay; they were only written by lesser-known pretenders and less-worthy champions of freedom for all Americans.