Delay Will Not Run

I heard this morning that Tom Delay will not be seek to retain his seat in the Congress this fall. NPR was almost giddy with delight at the prospect that Delay, a forceful leader in the Republican Party for years, was out. I don't understand the reasoning behind their elation.

Tom Delay was elected to Congress as part of the conservative movement that avowed to rein in government. Delay quickly became recognized as a man that could get things done and could hammer out the votes. He was a politician that was not always worried about his public image--he was willing to do the dirty work, and his hands got dirty.

Lost in much of NPR's analysis was the fact that many conservatives wanted Delay to shelf his plans to run again--including me. I have been irritated by Tom Delay's indifference to federal spending, and when he said last year that the federal budget had been cut to the bone (this while running a huge $300 billion plus deficit) I felt completely betrayed. He, at that point, proved to me that his touch with my America was lost.

It is the rare politician that can work in the revered halls of our federal government that can stay true to his convictions. For that matter, Tom Delay was not rare, for in very ordinary fashion he threw out his principles when it came to spending.

I do appreciate many things that Delay did while in office--particularly the realigning of congressional districts to better reflect voter makeup. Now, that district work is done and seriously, how hard can it be to find someone to replace Delay that doesn't see a budget with a deficit of a gazillion dollars as being lean?

Texas, my second home state, is up to the task--and all of America will be better off for it.