The Left-Wing Dishrag and Tom Delay

You know, Tom DeLay has ticked off a lot of people recently. I won't say that all of the criticism is unwarranted. But the campaign to tear him down is moving forward with the media as a willing accomplice, as noted by Robert Novak...

On March 24, former Congressman Bob Livingston was sent an e-mail by a New York Times editorial page staffer suggesting he write an op-ed essay. Would Livingston, who in 1998 gave up certain elevation to be House speaker because of a sexual affair, write about how Majority Leader Tom DeLay should now act under fire? In a subsequent conversation, it was made clear the Times wanted the prominent Republican to say DeLay should step aside for the good of the party.

Livingston in effect declined by responding that if he wrote anything for the Times, it would be pro-DeLay. But this remarkable case of that august newspaper fishing for an op-ed piece makes it appear part of a calculated campaign to bring down the single most powerful Republican in Congress. The Democratic establishment and left-wing activists have targeted DeLay as the way to end a decade of Republican control of the House.

As Novak noted, the Times (again, people wonder why I call it a left-wing dishrag) is likely crossing the line from doing reporting to doing something else -- furthering the agenda of people who would like to bring down DeLay. I don't think Livingston's views are all that newsworthy on this topic, but if they're worth printing, they're worth printing either way.

Personally, I think DeLay went over the top in his comments on the Schiavo case. That's not worthy of resignation -- it's not Trent Lott from two years ago. It's the ethics charges which are more troubling, and deserve to be fully examined. But it's not like other politicians don't have similar charges that need to be aired and reviewed -- and these are fish who are just as big, such as Harry Reid. Somebody call me when the left-wing dishrag gets interested in that one.