Breaking News - The Hammer Has Fallen

Now that we've all exhausted ourselves dancing over DeLay's political gravesite (go ahead - get it out of your system), we should ask ourselves, how exactly does this affect the political landscape?

Let's run through the list of all those who stand to lose or gain, starting with the most obvious:

1.) Tom DeLay: Well folks, he's done for. And the standard Congressional retirement plan - a cushy lobbyist post up top Capitol Hill - is probably out of the window. But why drop out now? My guess is that he could heard the sirens blaring outside his window, and he wants to spend some time with his real family before having to adopt another one in Leavenworth. I wonder what fanciful new moniker his celly Bubba will bestow upon him - I doubt "the Hammer" will stick. Pookie, perhaps?

I'm thinking that Tom DeLay stepped aside for some combination of the following reasons:

• The Abramoff Scandal: Recent events convinced him that the paddywagons are coming to collect
• Ronnie Earle: He just couldn't shake that derned money laundering charge loose.
• Party Pressure/Nick Lampson: The initial poll numbers weren't looking so hot. It's likely that the returns on some on his tracking polls looked even worse. Lampson was probably going to squeeze past DeLay in November, and the powers-that-be weren't having that.
• None/All of the above: If none of these factors alone was troubling enough to topple him, maybe, after some deliberation, it just kind of dawned on him that his career as the Big Dog is over. And, maybe he just down on the idea of once again being just another weenie dog yapping for the scraps...but, then again, yeah, okay, he's probably going to jail.

In his own words:

"I feel that I could have won the race," DeLay told Time. "I just felt like I didn't want to risk the seat and that I can do more on the outside of the House than I can on the inside right now."

...yeah, like illegally bribing members of Congress.

2.) Nick Lampson: Okay, not looking so good here. Lampson's well-funded, experienced, and has some measure of name recognition, but he has the great disadvantage of being an outed Democrat in a goofily Republican district

3.) The Texas Democratic Party: Generally good. Hopefully, we'll capitalize quickly, raise a little coin, and get noticed by whatever real independents are left.

4.) The Texas Republican Party: Generally bad. I think the reasonable people of this state are suffering from DeLay fatigue - just ask the voters in his own district. As for riling their base, of course this will strike a certain contingent of fundamentalist voters as yet more "evidence" of the "War on Christianity" that the left is waging in this country. But, when it comes to them, whaddaya gonna do?

5.) The National Republican Party: Generally good (not a typo): Now these yahoos can demonstrate how anxious they are to clean up their act. They had already lost DeLay as their Majority Leader some months ago, and Boner (not a mistaken typo) has established himself as a satisfactory replacement. Yesterday, they were in danger of losing a house seat. Today, their odds in TX-22 got a heckuva lot better.

6.) The National Democratic Party: This could go either way:

• Good: See! We told you so!!! A CNN reporter mentioned that the Democrats have lost their "whipping boy". Well, sure. Now if the Dems want to run on a platform of anti-corruption (not to mention challenging incompetence and for fiscal responsibility, for chrissakes!), all we have left is professional palmgreaser and convicted felon Jack Abramoff; Rep. Bob Ney; hero-turned-Congressman-turned-felon, Randall "Duke" Cunningham; borderline scandalous Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist; oh yeah, and CIA-agent-outing traitor (and amateur belle-lettrist, ew!) Scooter Libby.
• Bad: We can't play "Dogpile on DeLay", now. It does look a little unseemly to kick the man while he's down. That is unless he doesn't go mouthing off against some Vast Left Wing Conspiracy. He'd best sit quietly with his tail between his legs, and give us those puppy dog eyes...if he knows what's good for him. If he goes shrill on us, as, indeed, is his wont, then he's fair game.

Authored by: Clifton Walker, SAYDs Vice-Chair