Hightower: How Giant Crook Tom DeLay Finally Got What He Deserved

[ProudDad]

Tom DeLay, a once-upon-a-time Republican powerhouse, has accumulated an unusual assortment of nicknames in his professional life. As a Texas legislator in the 1980s, he was known as "Hot Tub Tommy," a do-nothing member who preferred partying to lawmaking.

When he went to Congress, however, he was a man on a mission. The former owner of a pest control business, DeLay distinguished himself as a frequent and hyperbolic ranter against EPA regulations, even calling the environmental agency the Gestapo of government. His colleagues laughingly dubbed him "The Exterminator."

Then he found his real calling in politics, becoming an ethics-free floor leader who unabashedly demanded campaign cash for the GOP from corporate lobbyists -- in exchange for moving their legislation. His pay-to-play demands were as subtle as a sledgehammer, but they worked, making him the most powerful and feared member of Congress in the first half of this decade. This earned him another sobriquet: "The Hammer."

The only thing fiercer than the The Hammer's power was his cosmic-scale arrogance. "I AM the federal government," he once barked to a waitress who had requested that he comply with a federal no-smoking rule.


http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/149041

[mod mom]

1. I love Jim Hightower. I was lucky to have him over to our house for a reception

after hosting a True Majority Fundraiser in '04. I always thought the Dems should have used his folksy way of making great points to reach more people but alas they prefer the smooth talking assholes like rahm to help direct policy. Look where that's got us-rahm got everything he wanted (like the GOP calling the shots) :mad:

[ProudDad]

3. My favorite Hightower moment

was when he spoke in Berkeley years ago.

At one point, to illustrate the huge gap between the rich and the poor, he said, "If Bill Gates walked out of here down that center aisle and dropped a $500 bill, it wouldn't be worth his time to pick it up..."

[no_hypocrisy]

2. IMO, Delay hasn't begun to be punished for the damage he's caused.

[Swamp Rat]

4. You can run, but you cannot hide!