On the Republican Party, Part One

Jeremy over at Charging RINO has some stinging parting words for former House Majority Leader Tom Delay who exited the House yesterday (and probably off to a lucrative lobbying and speaking career). Jeremy pins Delay with doing more damage to the Grand Old Party than any other person:

Tom DeLay has done more damage to the House of Representatives, the Republican Party, and the political climate of the United States than any other single person in recent memory. I am not sad to see him go, and I hope that his departure will signal the start of a reversal of the trends he perpetuated and exacerbated in recent years.

Good riddance, Mr. DeLay.

As I opined in an earlier post, Mr. Delay was but a symptom of a wider problem. In my view, he was but one slimy pol who was interested in enriching himself and his patrons. While I'm glad that he's out of the picture, don't think for a moment that Democrats and Republicans are going to start holding hands, singing songs of bipartisanship. As I said, in the April post, it's what Andrew Sullivan calls the "Christianists" that are the problem.

While I'm glad that Delay no longer has Congress to kick around anymore, the only way those of us who are interested in bringing the GOP more to the center is by getting more involved in the party. Delay's departure doesn't necessilrily mean the trends he was involved in will reverese automatically. They will only reverse because rank and file moderates in the GOP have had enoough and will work for change.

I leave you with what I said back in April:

If you are a Republican dissatisfied with the far right, then you need to stand up and say something. Get involved with some of the Republican organizations that are trying to change the party. I have links to them on the right of this page. Give money to those Republicans who are working for change. If you are centrist, find some way to support causes that can push back on the far right agenda.

Cheering Delay's demise might feel good, but it isn't worth a plug nickel in changing the party and the nation as a whole. Put down the party streamers and get to work.