This morning on NPR’s morning news show, Tom DeLay promoted his new book. Of all the people in the world, The Hammer might be the last one to listen to while awakening, but he gives some insights that are very valuable, though he might not be aware of it. Delay talked about keeping order in his majority. He said that he never had to threaten anybody; although he did have to punish people from time to time. One of them, he said, was Congressman Chris Smith, of New Jersey, who wanted more money for the VA Hospitals and military hospitals, specifically for Walter Reed Army Medical Center. DeLay said that he removed Smith, because, “Well, he just wanted too much money.”
This demonstrates what the Republicans have been doing for the last years.
Tom DeLay is pleased to tell about what has made him very successful. His father was a drunk, his mother was an enabler, DeLay says. He says this has made him a better person. Formerly a drunk himself, Delay says he was able to quit drinking, cold turkey in a few days, after being born again. DeLay says he has not had a drop of the hard stuff since that time, but he does drink wine, “because it is good for you.”
Diogenes is not making this up. Tom DeLay is happy to talk bout how he got his way, and turned the country right around, as a high-functioning drunk. There are a good many people in this great nation, who have no concept of other people’s feelings. Some of these people have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, characterized by a complete lack of “conscience” and failure to see the consequences of their actions. In the interview this morning, Tom DeLay was pleased to say that he had punished Chris Smith, but did not talk about the consequences. He did not talk about the damage he did, personally, to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of injured veterans of the Iraq war. He was very proud that he was able to save the money, so that he could give it to the riches Americans in the form of a high-bracket tax break.
Tom DeLay might have FAS, who knows? Diogenes is not competent to render a medical opinion. DeLay’s view of the world, and DeLay’s background of being a very hig-functioning drunk, is familiar. George W Bush has a similar story. Mr. Bush did not come from a family of dysfunctional drunks, of course. His father was George H W Bush, the 41st President. His mother, Barbara Pierce Bush has always been active in politics, and the story goes that some people in the family consider that she is more astute than her husband. But like Tom DeLay, George W Bush was a drunk, and he quit his drinking after being born-again. There have been a number of stories about when these events occurred,. There have been changes in the details (Laura Bush used to take some of the credit), but Mr. Bush hits the main points every time. Born again, quit drinking, cold turkey. No need for fancy twelve-step programs. Grace of God, Thank you, Jesus.
It is frightening that the United States is being led by someone who is so damaged. The President gave a forgettable speech in New Orleans, then was photographed walking across Jackson Square: There has been no effort to help the people who were hurt by Hurricane Katrina, only efforts to use the problem as a way to pay off political friends. By way of example, the huge new pumps intended to pull water out of the low-lying parts of New Orleans, were purchased by the Army Corps of Engineers, using a no-bid contract. The pumps, we now find, do not work, and cannot be repaired. The Corps bought the pumps from Jeb Bush. Diogenes is not making this up.
Likewise, the war in Iraq. Everybody knows about Halliburton, that the Defense Department Inspector General says that they took profits in the billions of dollars more than they were entitled under their no-bid contract, which already called for the most enormous profits. Vice President Cheney, who was formerly Chairman of Halliburton, is still being paid deferred compensation from that company. Much more than he is paid as Vice President. Diogenes thinks this is very nice for Mr. Cheney, but less nice for the United States.
Some years ago, Diogenes and Mrs. Diogenes used to drive their car to a parking lot near a subway station in Brooklyn. The parking meters requires quarters, of course, so we kept some in the car. One day, unwisely, Diogenes left three quarters in the car, visible from the outside. Not a total surprise, some vandal broke into the car for the loose money. The vandal caused $140 damage to the car in order to get the 75 cents.
In politics, as in life, there seem to be two kinds of people who steal money. There are the ones who think they are entitled to get something, that everybody does it; and if you look at it from the right point of view, it isn’t really such a bad thing. Congressman Randy Cunningham comes to mind at the top of that list, Congressman Jack Murtha maybe toward the bottom. The kind of stealing that is being carried out by the Bush Brothers, by Mr. Cheney, by Tom DeLay and his henchmen – most of whom are still in the Congress and doing business on K Street, is much worse.
These people – these vicious vandals – are perfectly willing to hurt many people. They are willing to destroy a whole American City. They are willing to consign our wounded war veterans to lives of pain and misery. They are willing to destroy the security of the United States and the environment of the world, for their seventy-five cents.
We were fortunate that they over-reached on Social Security. Make no mistake, they were trying to destroy that as well, and Diogenes thinks they are not finished trying to get that big pot of money. It is very important for those of us who recognize the harm these vandals are doing. We need to show even the slowest and most stubbornly resistant among us – our Republican neighbors–exactly what they were voting for.
Diogenes thinks it would be a very nice thing for Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney to leave office in disgrace. Cheney would not fight an impeachment trial, he is a very sick and very vain man, and he would not want everybody to see him on TV, looking ill, and looking like the criminal he is, with witnesses he cannot control and a process he cannot control. Let us all take up the cry: Cheney First!
