Oh, the Agony of Defeat! And DeLay <$NoAd$> too!
Just below you’ll see our post on the new batch of Ethics Panel evisceration rules the House Republicans were slated to push through tomorrow. And we were about to report how House Dems were readying to put the Republicans on the hotseat — particularly the Shays Handful — by forcing a vote on the DeLay Rule itself.
And now this comes across the AP Wire …
House Republicans suddenly reversed course Monday, deciding to retain a tough standard for lawmaker discipline and reinstate a rule that would force Majority Leader Tom DeLay to step aside if indicted by a Texas grand jury.
The surprise dual decisions were made by Speaker Dennis Hastert and by DeLay â who asked GOP colleagues to undo the extreme act of loyalty they handed him in November. Then, Republicans changed a party rule so DeLay could retain his leadership post if indicted by the grand jury in Austin that charged three of the Texas Republican’s associates.
So the DeLay Rule is no more? Can The Hammer remain The Hammer after such an ignominious climb-down? Perhaps, we should be thinking more along the lines of The Mallet? And after all the trouble of getting Republican bankbenchers to walk the plank in support of the thing? We’ve put some good bit of time into putting together our gallery of DeLay Rule Letter-Writer letters to constituents with all their mannered and far-fetched explanations for why they voted for the thing. And now this? The rug is pulled out of under them?
Oh the humanity …
