Thursday, September 29, 2005


Blunt Instrument

When Robert "The Torch" Torricelli resigned as Senator from New Jersey in 2002 amid a campaign finance scandal, Calvin Trillin wrote:

The Torch could not make folks forget
The graft for which he's cited
The only slogan left to use
Was "Never been indicted"

Tom DeLay no longer has the luxury of making such a claim.

For a while, it seemed like DeLay would be replaced by David Dreier, who happens to be my congressman.   With his telegenic looks and blow-dried hair -- I call him Blow-Dreier -- he has a certain superficial appeal that DeLay lacks.

Dreier has far better TV skills than anyone in the Republican caucus, something that would be necessary to warm up the party's image outside of its base.

But then the base decided it didn't want the party's image warmed up, since Dreier, with his support for stem-cell research, doesn't meet their Taliban social agenda litmus test, so House whip Roy Blunt of Missouri got the job instead.

Just imagine all the benefits of having your congressman become majority leader . He could have brought us even more Homeland Security pork projects, such as a seawall to protect us from hurricanes and tsunamis.  Never mind that Dreier's district is 40 miles from the ocean.


2:40:45 PM    comment []