"This has been the single most corrupt decade in the long and colorful history of the House of Representatives"

A decade ago, I paid a call on Tom DeLay in his ornate office in the Capitol. I had heard a rumor about him that I figured could not possibly be true. The rumor was that after the GOP took control of the House that year, DeLay had begun keeping a little black book with the names of Washington lobbyists who wanted to come see him. If the lobbyists were not Republicans and contributors to his power base, they didn't get into "the people's House." DeLay not only confirmed the story, he showed me the book. His time was limited, DeLay explained with a genial smile. Why should he open his door to people who were not on the team?

Thus began what historians will regard as the single most corrupt decade in the long and colorful history of the House of Representatives. Come on, you say. How about all those years when congressmen accepted cash in the House chamber and then staggered onto the floor drunk? Yes, special interests have bought off members of Congress at least since Daniel Webster took his seat while on the payroll of a bank. And yes, Congress over the years has seen dozens of sex scandals and dozens of members brought low by financial improprieties. But never before has the leadership of the House been hijacked by a small band of extremists bent on building a ruthless shakedown machine, lining the pockets of their richest constituents and rolling back popular protections for ordinary people. These folks borrow like banana republics and spend like Tip O'Neill on speed.

I love that quote, "spend like Tip O'Neill on speed". Good stuff that. We here at "The Immoral Minority" feel very strongly that Tom Delay and his cronies are giving immorality a very bad name. How can anybody foster any faith whatsoever in Congress and the rest of this Republican political machine when they swagger around Washington like drunken hooligans rewarding their supporteres and punishing those who do not kiss their ass?

What is vitally important for the Democrats to start to do is to make a very definite line between how the Republicans conduct business and how the Democrats conduct business. And on their side of that line Democrats are going to have to embrace the anti-war movement, paying off the deficit, repairing federal organizations, and being transparent and honest. There are going to be people who will not be comfortable with the Democrats advocating leaving Iraq but I believe that the majority of Americans want that to have happened yesterday.

The enemy is wounded and therfore more dangerous then ever, but now is the time to take the offensive. So get up off of your asses and lets get this thing done. America needs to hear the voices from those of us who are not afraid to say the hard words. Who are not worried about making everybody like them, or agree with them. Those who speak the truth even when it hurts.