The Washington Post says Dreier was Tom DeLay's choice.

[Zen Democrat]

Says that DeLay and Hastert have been discussing this for a while and Dreier was the pick. Speculating here ... could it be that DeLay wanted Dreier to "hold" his position for him and had enough on him to effectively blackmail him into loyalty? I think DeLay doesn't trust Blunt --- he knows Blunt plays the same kind of hardball he plays. He knows Blunt is hungry and will not give up the leadership position without a fight.

The tell-tale quote in this article is this ...

In a sign of DeLay's confidence he will return, he will keep his majority leader office in the Capitol rather than vacate it for Blunt.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/28/AR2005092802550_pf.html

[WatchWhatISay]

1. Either CNN or MSNBC reported today that it WAS going to be Dreier

I know that is what I heard. But the next time I heard anything about it they were saying Blunt, no mention of Dreier.

This seems like an encouraging sign, if Delay didn't get his handpicked choice. Wonder who chose Blunt?

[Zen Democrat]

2. Blunt chosen by the house conservatives who feared Dreier would be outed.

Probably DeLay has had the power to keep the Dreier hidden in the closet. Those conservatives may have realized that the pressure to out Dreier in the media would be enormous were he the Majority Leader. Basically, the conservatives were saying that they don't believe DeLay has the power to protect Davie boy anymore. And if he were outed, man, what would that do to the fundamentalist vote? Dreier was just too risky for these Republicans with an election year coming up.

[aquart]

3. Dreier hasn't been outed? To whom?

[WatchWhatISay]

4. Stupid me, I guess

I had no clue.

I've got RCG (Really Crappy Gaydar)

[aquart]

5. It's not MSM but it's everyplace else. Buzzflash, for instance. Here.

[Lindsay]

6. Yeah, I'm usually the last to know any of the good gossip,

but the stuff about Dreier has been pretty much all over the internets.