WASHINGTON — It is a sign of the Himalayan presumption to which
the anti-Delay hordes have soared that one of their websites is
soliciting from their rank and vile “witty slogans” to be
reproduced on billboards in House Majority Leader DeLay’s district
and thus sink him into oblivion when next the electorate speak. Now
how would any of these angry hysterics recognize wit?
I do long to see the fruits of their labors. Already we have
some specimens of their facetiae. There is the T-shirt
that reads, “Dear Tom DeLay, Drop Dead/ Sincerely, The American
People.” Ha, ha, ha — and did you get that, “Sincerely, The
American People”? What did I say about the anti-DeLay hysterics’
mountainous presumption? They actually think that their juvenile
indignation is characteristic of the majority of the American
people. But then they think the majority of the American people
oppose the present Republican Administration and were somehow
hoodwinked out of the last two elections.
Just the other day the Democrats’ most recent messiah, Senator
Jean-Francois Kerry, solemnized, “Last year, too many people were
denied their right to vote, too many who tried to vote were
intimidated.” Here is Senator Kerry’s evidence, “Leaflets are
handed out saying Democrats vote on Wednesday, Republicans vote on
Tuesday. People are told in telephone calls that if you’ve ever had
a parking ticket, you’re not allowed to vote.”
Well, Michael Barone, one of the most perceptive students of
politics, has also been reviewing the last election. He comes to a
conclusion based on more solid evidence than that of the
glassy-eyed Senator Kerry, namely, election results — state by
state and congressional district by congressional district.
Barone’s conclusion is that “In the long run, Republicans are
well-positioned to increase their numbers in both the Senate and
the House.” The number of Democrats in the Senate and the House who
are dependent on constituencies that have voted Republican in
presidential races is far higher than the number of Republicans
holding seats in states that go Democratic every four years. When
these Democrats retire or step away from moderate positions, a
Republican is likely to take their place.
This ongoing slippage, which has been going on since 1980,
despite the Wunderkind Clinton, explains the Democrats’ desperate
assault on House Majority Leader DeLay, the most successful
Republican to hold that position in modern times. Ben Stein wrote
recently in DeLay’s defense that he “is morally probably the
highest level public servant I have ever met.” Ben, I shall take
your word for that. Certainly nothing I have seen in the corpus
delicti gathered up by the Democrats’ servants in the media
demonstrates otherwise. All of it is either blameless or standard
operating procedure for all Washington pols, Democrat, Republican,
and Independent.
Did DeLay have his wife and daughter on his payroll for
campaign-related work? That was the news story that was supposed to
send him to the gallows last week. This week it has been reported
that Independent congressman Bernard Sanders has been doing the
same. If the press looks carefully, it will discover an abundance
of solons employing family members. What the Democrats are doing is
creating yet another double standard: what is impermissible for
Republicans is not even mentioned when practiced by Democrats.
My guess is that DeLay is going to survive easily. He has done
no wrong, though he might in the future be more scrupulous in
availing himself to the hospitality of Washington wheeler-dealers.
How his enemies are going to survive is more problematic. They have
driven themselves to the edge. As with the President so now with
DeLay, they are nearly out of their minds. The only good that can
come of this condition for them is this. In their hysteria they
will not be able to notice what fools they make of themselves. They
will be stuck with DeLay up there on the Hill passing legislation,
but they will still have their self-esteem. Of course, they even
maintained their self-esteem when they voted for the buffoonish
Senator Kerry.
