Did DeLay fall or was he pushed? It may have been a little of both. Personally I don't believe a man like DeLay would fall on his own sword against his will. A few members of his own side have been calling for his resignation since last year when the ethics charges first began to bite. In the end, it took the vortex of Abramhoff to finally stack the dice to the point DeLay felt he couldn't win. And rather than fight that losing battle, he thought it was best to step aside - either for the party to win without him or to attempt to save face - you pick. Either way, local Republicans must be breathing a sigh of relief. Though they couldn't let DeLay step down without one last impressive display.

Is DeLay the proverbial canary in the coalmine for the Republican chances in November? I think he just might be. After all, it's not been a good two weeks for the Republicans, especially if you're taking the long view. What with DeLay toppling and Abramhoff sentenced and promising to name names I think we're in for a juicy summer of revelations. The best bit of the news story was the Judge ordering Abramhoff to report to jail in 90 days; and then the prosecution asking for him to remain free for six months, because he's cooperating so nicely. It's one nice thing about such crime; it's very rare that you see someone keeping to any kind of code of silence. Who will be next to be snarled up? Newsweek asked that question, and made a fairly persuasive case for suggesting Conrad Burns had best be practicing his defense skills. What with DeLay's former aide Tony Rudy also taking the stand, the dominos are still toppling. I sure hope so. One particular lobbying job of theirs sufficiently raised my hackles; arguing for legislation that would enable garment manufacturers in the Marianas Islands (a Commonwealth of the U.S.) to claim 'made in USA' on clothing, but without respecting U.S. laws that govern wages and immigration law. The next time you buy a 'Made in USA' t-shirt that was actually made in a remote pacific atoll by some kid earning $1 an hour, you can thank Rudy.

Thankfully, things are going far beyond Burns, Rudy and DeLay; a treasure trove of emails is revealing not only the spread of influence peddling, but how blatant it was. Washington has always been a town of wheeling and dealing of course, but seeing things dragged into the light does make me wonder if future staffers will be required to write meeting minutes in longhand and destroy the papers - or perhaps eat them, if caught in the act. If the emails are to be believed though, the thing that strikes me as ironic is the sums of money involved. $2000 here, $5000 there. Barely enough to fund a good attack ad on a weblog, much less fund a campaign. And it's this level of cash that might ultimately sink the lobbying system? Fat chance, really. As the Boston Globe noted, the current widely touted reforms are little more than window dressing. Washington runs on money, and neither party is going to occupy what scarred moral high ground remains if it means giving up those sweet, sweet campaign donations.

Either way, the Republican party is certainly eating the brunt of the publicity on this issue and it's showing. They may hope that with DeLay gone, the worst is perhapsy behind them. After all, even if he's indicted, he will have stepped down, and can be safely dismissed (or perhaps given a Presidential Medal of Freedom in a few years) to the lecture circuit - and perhaps, pulpit. Apparently after all this, the true reason he's being hounded is because the liberals hate Christians. Still, I'm sure the good Lord will provide. Let's just hope he doesn't remember that thing about the money changers and the temple - or that rich man, camel, and needle's eye thing.

Yes, with DeLay gone, the outlook can only get bright-- wait, what's this? Scooter Libby filing court papers that allege Cheney and Bush were the source of leaks of intelligence reports to make the Administration's case against Iraq? But didn't Bush say he'd fire the source of any leaks? Oooops. If Republicans want to take the summer off to just go and drink beer by the pool, I totally understand. Just be glad the Democratic spin machine is about as strong as the desire for true lobbying reform in Washington* or you'd actually be in real trouble.

* That would be to say, not very strong.

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