The disassembly of Tom DeLay

Turning the tough into a target
Washington has a way of getting even with tough guys who are too blatant about it, and DeLay is feared and hated in much of the “downtown” lobbying community. DeLay is right to decry the hypocrisy of “K Street,” which has been run by Democratic fixers since the days of Franklin Roosevelt. The majority leader, with a determination that even Gingrich didn’t muster, has been the lead player in an effort to root out Democratic influence peddlers and replace them with Bush-era Republicans. All’s fair, right? No it’s not.

Leaderless and intellectually rudderless, the Democrats are desperate for issues, and they have decided (to the extent there is a “they”) to make a piñata of DeLay. The old argument against doing so was that no one knew who he was. Then people like Jim Jordan, a tough and media-savvy advisor to DNC Chairman Howard Dean, essentially said, what the heck, let’s go for it – and he and others have convinced some of the party’s big money types to have at it.

There’s a certain logic to the enterprise: don’t take on the Texas president, who remains popular, especially as commander-in-chief. Take on another Texas, who comes from Houston, who is close to the Oil Boys, and who can be made to stand for the GOP’s never-ending vulnerability, which is that they are too close to corporate power, especially the kind that sells gas for $2.50 a gallon.

Inside the GOP leadership on the Hill, DeLay is not beloved. He is admired for his fundraising skill and political daring, but at least some of the top figures are wary of him. Speaker Denny Hastert, once thought of as a creation and tool of the DeLay, has risen in esteem – and real and perceived independence. Majority Whip Roy Blunt, widely respected and much liked at the White House, is waiting in the wings should the need arise to move up in the ranks.

Relations between the president and DeLay have never been particularly warm – Texas isn’t quite big enough for the both of them. Bush and Karl Rove have been careful to cultivate him over the years, of course, and they have made common cause since Bush first started running for governor in 1993. Bush likes to delegate the tough stuff – to people like DeLay and Rove – but they are still hired help.

And you can always fire the help.

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