Reply #5: This Is How A Machine Works [View All]

[KharmaTrain]

Forget calling it a party any longer...the Repugnicans are a machine; fueled and fully dependent on party control and money. How else do you consistantly get your members to do 180s on issues of local importance (voting to close the local military base) or lose party influence and money. While DeLay's gone, he's not out of the picture...if anything he can (he assumes) return to the role he had before he replaced Armey as Repugnican leader...of "the enforcer". The game here is still having some kind of control on the big money, and DeLay won't give that up unless he's locked away or fully disgraced. As long as he remains in the House, he remains a power and can and will bully the party around. Also, there are a lot of wingnuts who will shuck their current "angst" over DeLay when it comes to winning elections and raiding the treasury.

Blount has long been DeLay's uber-marshall...DeLay's DeLay. There's more sleeze on this guy's hands than on DeLays, if such a thing is possible...but he's got the "Hammer's" "touch" in intimidating those who don't play ball and rewarding those who do. Some may hold their noses to accepting this quid pro quo, they still need the national party money and to be in leadership's "good graces" to bring home the pork that keeps them in office.

Until the Repugnicans admit their party is too reliant on the corporate and special interest money (and there are Democrats who need to get this message as well) it's going to remain prey to a strongman type who can generate the big money and "whip" 'em in line. Moderates don't stand a chance in this game since, besides being in such a minority, none really have the "stones" (like a Jacob Javitz) to push true leadership. On the other side, there's goons like Mike Pence and other DeLay and Gingrich wannabes who think they're even "smarter" than the last generation of crooks.

Cheers...