If I Had a Hammer

So Tom Delay announced he will not be seeking reelection for his Texas District. This seems like good news to honest and decent people both here and abroad. In addition to the shady levers of power and money Delay created to control who gets into Congress and what they do when they get there, he is personally responsible for keeping legislation preventing child and slave labor in US territories from making it to the House floor. Who knows how likely it was Congress would have done anything about it, but Delay made sure we wouldn't find out. I'm sure somebody that hates America less than I do could explain why these things are actually good and how we are worse off without Tom in Congress, but I don't know any better.

I do worry a little though. It seems strange that someone as... passionate as Delay would withdraw from his campaign. He seemed to have no sense of weakness, equivocation, or uncertainty about his right to rule. Even though scandal led straight to his doorstep and he pushed the barriers of decency within the law, he saw no reason he should not run and win. He does not seem like the guy that would yield to either shame or the possibility of not winning so I have a little trouble taking this move at face value.

This seems like the moment he goes off to meet with the chief priests and we think nothing of it. It seems innocuous enough now, then we're blindsided with what he's really up to. Less any public contrition, I think we can expect some pretty nefarious things from him in the future still. I'm not saying, "Mark my words..." or anything like that. What I'm saying is Tom Delay doesn't, at this point in his public life, strike me as a gracious loser, or someone that will give up the screws all that happily. Either they have more on him than we know about, he's got his eyes on a bigger pie, or he is very privately changed but hasn't figured out how or whether to express this publicly.

My own Congressman, the 50 something, confirmed bachelor, Republican, David Dreier, will likely win handily when his time comes to run, but I'll probably vote for Dan Harden... if he runs. Funny thing about David Dreier, he was next in line for Delay's position. When Delay stepped down to deal with his scandal plagued life, Dreier was logically and traditionally expected to fill the void. But he didn't. Weird huh? Oh it's not that weird. Dreier prefers the company of men, he can't have such a prominent role in the party without trading his assistant for a wife and kids. Considering that, he has done quite well for himself in his party of choice. Which is, to be honest, my biggest problem with him. My problem is not that he prefers the company of men, I mean- who doesn't, but he seems content to say, "I got mine, the rest of you take care of yourselves." I take issue with his fiscal priorities too... sometimes. But even those seem to stem from the same mentality. He keeps winning because that seems to be most people's mentality here; if there's a more "I got mine" region than these Foothills I don't know what it is. Well, that's not everyone here of course, but like I said before, you'd probably only find more Hummers in a rap video.

C'mon! Someone Needs to Win Those Coins
Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine- White Stripes
Hurricane- Bob Dylan
Master Blaster (Jammin')- Stevie Wonder
Shelter From the Storm- Bob Dylan
The Boy With the Thorn in His Side- The Smiths
Mambo King- Tito Puente
Paranoid Android- Radiohead
Oh My Golly!- The Pixies
Problems- Sex PIstols
Ain't It The Truth- The Briefs
Hummer- The Smashing Pumpkins
Livin' Thing- ELO
Wild Honey Pie- The Beatles