Delay may beat the Travis County indictment. It may be bogus as a three dollar bill. [See here]. He may stay a congressman. He may have influence. But, Speaker DeLay? Majority Leader DeLay? Whip DeLay? I don?t think so.
The times are a changing. And, they dictate a much different public face for the Republican Party than that of the Hammer. If I had a hammer, I?d hammer in the morning, I?d hammer in the evening. All over this land. But, I wouldn?t make the Hammer the public face of the national Republican Party. For that you want an articulate, thoughtful, telegenic conservative. Not a Hammer.
Dreier may not have been the right congressperson for the job. But?s it not DeLay and it?s not Blunt. So, the Speaker and Friends had best do a search. They need a new Public Face and they need it soon.
DeLay has been toxic for much longer than just recent months. He was hidden away during the 2000, 2002, and 2004 election for a reason–he’s nasty and caustic. That has some advantages in some cases, but if you need a public face–which Denny is not, he’s not your guy. Now, I think the guy is crooked, but even if you disagree, he gets little for conservatives. Blunt is as bad and as he has aged, his public persona has become far less pleasant than many in Missouri remember. He’s a slow Tom DeLay. He may stick around for a bit, but he won’t last–and, conservatives in the long run will be better for that. I kind of like having them around for someone to beat up, but there are a lot better choices out there for movement conservatives.
Greg points out many conservatives are moving on…which isn’t surprising to me in one sense–DeLay hasn’t exactly provided a reduction in government or anything so his usefullness in terms of the movement is pretty limited. His ties with actual Members of Congress make him stickier and promise to keep him around to kick for 2006 at least.