Mullings: An American Cyber-column By Rich Galen

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DeLay, the Darling of the Dems

Rich Galen

Wednesday March 16, 2005

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One of the most senior observers of the US Congress is David Espo who holds the title of "Special Correspondent" for the Associated Press. He has been covering the House and Senate since about 1980 which means he has seen pretty much all of the good, the bad, and the ugly which has occurred over that quarter-century.

Over the past few days Espo has published a couple of pieces regarding the status of the Congress which, taken together, are a pretty complete overview of the current state of play.

They include a report on status of Tom DeLay's position as Majority Leader in the House; and an overview of the surprising amount of success Republicans are enjoying in moving favored legislation through the process.

On the Tom DeLay issue, the Democrats appear to be attempting to repeat the strategy which forced Newt Gingrich from the Speaker's Chair after the 1998 elections.

The Democrats went after Newt with something every day: Floor speeches which attacked him in the most repulsive personal terms; ethics complaints by the score; and tens of millions of dollars in paid television ads designed only to demonize him.

After the 1998 elections, the GOP Members of the House were worn out defending him and he had to step down. If the Democrats thought that cutting off the head would kill the body of the Republican Conference in the House, they were wrong. They got Dennis Hastert - the anti-Newt - a thoughtful, non-confrontational man who gave the Democrats no openings - ethical, or temperamentally - to attack him.

Net result? The Republicans have held control for now five straight Congresses and there is no reasonable expectation Democrats can get it back any time before 2012 at the earliest.

If they make defending Tom DeLay too tiring for House Republicans - or too tiresome for their constituents - what happens? An extremely talented set of Republican Members are ready to step in - all as different from Mr. DeLay as Speaker Hastert was from Newt.

So what can the end-game for the Pelosi Democrats be? Getting rid of DeLay would cause some heartburn inside the Beltway, but not many other places.

For the price of it, the House Democrats, who have proffered little if anything in the way of legislative ideas, will be exposed as being wholly barren intellectually, and totally absurd politically.

Have at it, Nance.

Espo's piece on the status of big legislative initiatives was captured in his quote of Oklahoma Congressman, Tom Cole, "'The amount of legislation that's passing is pretty big,' said Rep. Cole, a deputy whip. In addition to the class action lawsuit bill and bankruptcy measure, he said, 'I think we'll get an energy bill, a highway bill and maybe' legislation to resolve asbestos claims."

[Note: I have a client with an interest in asbestos legislation, about which, I will not write.]

The Congress has sent to the President a bill significantly limiting class-action lawsuits and is about to send along the bankruptcy bill. Espo writes:

Democrats contend both bills were low-hanging fruit for Republicans, the result of partisan compromise over several years. Even so, the nation's trial lawyers, a key portion of the Democratic fund-raising base, opposed the lawsuit bill. And according to knowledgeable officials, they recently received assurances that Democrats intend to fight harder against other GOP priorities, including legislation to limit awards in medical malpractice cases.

And just over the next snowdrift, the Senate Republicans have constructed an attachment to the budget allowing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. That is a concept which failed, according to Espo, in 2003 on a 52-48 vote, when the GOP held a two-vote margin not the 10-vote bulge they now enjoy following the 2004 elections.

While the national press, the Sunday shows, and the Democratic National Committee are focused like the Hubble telescope on Social Security and Tom DeLay; Congressional Republicans are pretty much having their way with everything else.

On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: Links to the Espo pieces on Rep. DeLay and the legislative agenda, plus a link to the Washington Post piece about DeLay's travel; a really foolish Mullfoto and a Catchy Caption which, if you thought the Prince Charles bit the other day was in bad taste, I urge you not to view.
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Copyright © 2005 Richard A. Galen

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