Jack Cluth's blog

Big plans: DeLay's next mission is in God's hands. Disgraced congressman has a wholly holy agenda

(via The People's Republic of Seabrook)

Tom DeLay may look as though he's finished because he is quitting Congress, facing a trial on felony political corruption charges in Texas and being targeted by federal prosecutors in the Jack Abramoff scandal. But that would be dead wrong: DeLay recently told one of his pastors that God wanted him to leave Congress in part because He has bigger plans for DeLay. That pastor, the Rev. Rick Scarborough, introduced DeLay to a Christian conference just last week, saying, "This is a man, I believe, God has appointed ... to represent righteousness in government."

I was fortunate enough to have yesterday off, and I spent a good part of it writing about Tom DeLay and cleaning up dog crap in the back yard - two tasks that elicit disturbingly similar feelings of revulsion. Combine that feeling with Rick Scarborough, and I have to struggle to keep my granola down.

Why is it that the last refuge of a scoundrel is to wrap themselves in flag and faith? What is it about Tom DeLay and his ilk that make them feel as if they are justified in tarninshing the teachings of Jesus Christ with their hypocrisy and arrogance? If Tom DeLay and Rick Scarborough are "men of God", I'm the Queen of England...and I don't look good in a tiara. Shouldn't there be a special place in Hell for hypocritical, self-absorbed trolls like this?

So mark those words. DeLay may be leaving Congress, but he will be back with a vengeance, in a new and potentially more powerful role, because he is a ferociously determined man who believes he is on a politico-religious mission from God.

Apparently, DeLay's God is a vindictive, mean-spirited God willing to launder money, skirt the law, and violate common political ethics in order to achieve His desired end. Wow...God really IS a Republican, eh??

DeLay spoke with a passion about his goal to make us all into one "God-centered" nation. "Our entire system is built on the Judeo-Christian ethic, but it fell apart when we started denying God. If you stand up today and acknowledge God," he said, "they will try to destroy you." Five years later, that is also the argument DeLay is deploying to portray himself as the victim of prosecutorial persecution. He is suggesting that his legal salvation is linked to the salvation of the Republican Party, of Christianity itself.

And DeLay's crusade will not be sidetracked by the acts of mortals such as states' attorneys, crooked lobbyists and disgraced former staffers who are poised to testify against him. In DeLay's world he answers only to a higher power, and his personal Armageddon has only just begun. He will artfully squeeze a load of money from the Christian Right as he makes his thunderous argument from multiple pulpits in the weeks and months ahead. The new Tom DeLay will combine aspects of the Revs. Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, and Lee Atwater, the late right-wing political consultant with the legendary killer instinct.

If Tom DeLay is a shining example of Christian love and charity, then Christianity is truly a farce, a narrow, judgemental ideology designed to ensure the primacy of rich, White Republicans scared of anything that threatens their dominance over public life. When ignorance, fear, and self-interest rules the American body politic...well, this is what you get - a collection of knuckle-dragging troglodytes willing to do whatever it takes, no matter how corrupt or self-interested to protect the interest of the rich, the White, and the afraid.

DeLay dates his Christian rebirth to his alcohol-hazed first year in Congress, when he saw a video by James Dobson, the Christian family guru, on the dangers of putting career ahead of family. "I started crying because I had missed my daughter's whole childhood," he said. "It was me, me, me, me. It was golf or my business or politics that came first. It told me what a jerk I really was."

Was? When did this change? It's hardly to believe that this arrogant, self-absorbed, judgemental, intolerant troll was at one point in his life EVEN WORSE. Of course, now that he has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal savior, it's OK...because Tom DeLay now truly knows that God is on his side.What a load of crap....

In the next 20 years, DeLay came to develop a single-minded vision of how America should be. DeLay's America would acknowledge that the Constitution was inspired by the Bible; it would promote prayer and worship, and would stop gun control, outlaw abortion, limit the rights of gays, curb contraception, end the constitutional separation of church and state, and adopt the Ten Commandments as guiding principles for public schools.

Yes, it seems that DeLay's world, if it were up to him, would be a place where thieves (and Democrats) would be kept in stocks in the village square. Adulterers would be required to wear a scarlet "A".  Unbelievers, heathens, and idolators would be stoned. In short, we would all be required to think and act as DeLay and his merry band of Republican Christian zealots dictated. We would believe in peace through strength and Amerika uber Alles. Worst of all, we would have no problem projecting our military might around the world, wherever and whenever Our Way of Life (and the price of oil) was threatened.

One Sunday in Sugar Land, I knelt alongside DeLay as we prayed at the First Baptist Church, then listened to the fiery preaching of DeLay's friend and minister, whose name was Rambo. I went to Bible study and the Sunday school class DeLay taught. Afterward, I told DeLay I was somewhat troubled by the idea that he essentially wanted to remold the government to meet his fundamentalist Christian worldview. I told him I thought a good many Americans would share my reaction.

Gee, what a shock; Americans troubled by waking up to the reality that they have participated in the creation of a narrow, judgemental, hate-based Republican theocracy? Of course, here in CD-22, most folks have reflexively voted for DeLay since 1984. After all, voting Republican sure is a hell of a lot easier than thinking, eh?

He looked me squarely in the eyes and shook his head sadly at the fate of us nonbelievers. "When faced with the truth, the truth hurts. It is human nature not to face that," he said. "People hate the messenger. That's why they killed Christ."

And now, DeLay says he prayed long and hard before God made clear to him that He no longer wants DeLay to represent Texas's 22nd Congressional District. Instead, DeLay says, his God wants him to be a messenger — on a much broader scale. And we will see DeLay constantly smiling as he delivers his message because in his heart he knows that we hopeless sinners will always hate the messenger.

It seems clear that DeLay has imputed to himself a higher degree of righteousness than seems warranted for someone so corrupt, craven, and thoroughly mean-spirited. Frankly, I hope DeLay moves to Virginia; they'll love his sorry, ignorant, hate-based theology. Virginia is, after all, home to troglodytes like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. They'll no doubt welcome Tom DeLay with open arms...if for no other reason than they know DeLay will raise boatloads of cash for their personal fiefdoms.

To those of you who see fit to lionize DeLay as some sort of saint-in-waiting...what have you been smoking? Or are you really that ignorant of what this man has been up to for the past 24 years?

Nice going, America; you've created this mess. Still glad you voted Republican? Don't you think WE DESERVE BETTER??

A Good Swift Kick

(via The People's Republic of Seabrook)

In general, I'm against kicking 'em when they're down ... unless really awful people are involved. I figured Tom DeLay is so awful, plenty of people would gang up on him and I could pass. Imagine my surprise when the toughest question one famous TV tough guy could come up with was, "Do you think you invested too much in the Republican Party?" Another inquired whether DeLay could think of any mistakes he'd made. I waited with bated breath for the immortal, "I wish I could learn not to work so hard," but no, he couldn't think of a single one.

Molly Ivins is right, of course. There is certainly no lack of folks willing to take yet another kick at the cold, dead body that is the political career of Thomas Dale DeLay. I am a proud member of this fraternity, and I have no plans to quit...until I get bored with it. Eventually, I'll decided that it's time to move onto milking other Sacred Cows, but for now this one will do just fine.

Personally, I can hardly wait to see the taillights of the U-Haul van that carts DeLay and his belongings off to Virginia. Good riddance...but I imagine that DeLay will be welcomed with open arms by the likes of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, folks who have helped turn Virginia into the homeland of Taliban Christianity. Anyone who has ever either driven through or spent any time at all in Lynchburg, VA, will understand what I'm talking about. Virginia is the only state in the US with a higher per-capita ratio of wacked-out religious nutjobs. Yes, DeLay will feel right at home in Virginia, where all manner of corruption and bad behavior will be overlooked as long as you are wealthy, White, and call yourself a "Christian".

Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay first came to power promising to restore democracy to the House of Representatives, supposedly suffering from then-Speaker Jim Wright's tyrannical regime. Even after the Rs drove Wright from office, however, bipartisanship was out of the question for DeLay. In the budget fight and government shutdown of 1995, for instance, DeLay rejected compromise and famously said, "It's time for all-out war."

I never minded DeLay being a tough guy -- it was his syrupy claims to carry the banner for Christianity that I found offensive, as he frog-marched the House toward being a cash- operated special-interest machine. The idea of putting pressure on lobbyists to give only to Republicans, pressuring lobbying firms into hiring only Republicans and then letting lobbyists sit at the table during committee meetings where legislation was written -- it was just screaming overt corruption.

Tom DeLay and Newt Gingrich turned the U.S. House of Representatives, "the people's House," into a pay- for-play machine for corporations. Put in enough money, get your special tax exemption, get your earmarked government contract, get your trade legislation and your environmental exemption, get rid of safety regulation.

So many promises, so much optimism...and in the end it was the same old crap, merely a different party. In the case of Republicans like DeLay, though, they were able to wrap themselves in the warm embrace of flag and faith, and suddenly it no longer mattered that they were liars, thieves, and demagogues. They were Republicans, and they were men of God. And it was good....at least for them. They got the gold mine, while the rest of us were left with the shaft. From 1994's "Contract On With America to today, Democratic corruption has been swapped for Republican corruption. Yes, the players have changed, but the game is still the same as it ever was.

WE DESERVE BETTER.

DeLAY'S FORMER AIDE ADMITS TAKING BRIBES: Lawmaker says he didn't know of the wrongdoing in his office that led to a guilty plea

(via The People's Republic of Seabrook)

WASHINGTON - A former top aide to U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay admitted Friday to accepting bribes while on the lawmaker's staff and has joined the circle of former DeLay associates cooperating with a federal investigation of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

Is it just me, or does the circle (or the noose) seem to be tightening around Tom DeLay? "The Hammer" has been indicted, Jack Abramoff has been convicted and sentenced, and now his former aide Tony Rudy has pled guilty to taking bribes while working for DeLay. Hmm...and this is a man who his friend Rev. Rick Scarborough says represents "righteousness in government"?? Have DeLay's supporters lost all perspective, never mind their sense of decency? Does being a Christian REALLY meaning being willing to countenance all manner of corruption and venaliy? Apparently so.

Of course, it's quite possible that "The Hammer" knew nothing about Rudy's escapades, but DeLay's office has never been a shining example of probity and upright behavior. If DeLay had set the tone, if he would have established right off the bat that questionable, unethical, and/or illegal behavior would not be tolerated by those in his office, it's quite possible that none  of this would have happened.

If you tolerate those who skirt the edge of the ethical and legal envelope, you can't claim to be surprised with the prosecutors show up on your doorstep.

Documents in Rudy's case marked the first time federal prosecutors have mentioned DeLay publicly in the Abramoff probe.

DeLay, R-Sugar Land, is described as "Representative # 2" and is identified by details such as the time period, 1995 through 2000, during which Rudy worked for him.

Rudy admitted that in return for the bribes, he got DeLay to sign a letter opposing a postal rate increase, according to court documents. Abramoff had sought such a letter on behalf of publishing clients.

Cullen said DeLay was happy to sign the letter because he had a philosophical opposition to the rate increases. DeLay had no idea Rudy was being bribed to help obtain the letter,

Cullen said. Rudy, 39, pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to accepting $86,000 in cash funneled by Abramoff and others through a foundation set up by Rudy's wife, Lisa, as well as gifts of lavish trips, meals and sports tickets. As part of his plea agreement, Rudy's wife will escape prosecution and become a government witness.

Abramoff, whom DeLay once described as "one of my closest and dearest friends," and former DeLay press secretary Michael Scanlon already have pleaded guilty in the case and are eligible for reduced sentences in return for their cooperation.

Prosecutors indicated in new documents that another DeLay insider, former chief of staff Edwin Buckham, is under scrutiny.

Given the parade of indictments and convictions, it would be difficult for a reasonable person not to come to the conclusion that corruption is endemic (and tolerated) in DeLay's world. One aide might be an aberration. Two represents a problem. Throw Jack Abramoff into the mix and it becomes clear that what you have is an ethical and moral black hole.

What is happening around Tom DeLay is no coincidence, and it's time that his constituents stop denying it. DeLay is not the target of Rudy's case, but the stench of guilt by association is impossible to miss here.

Repeat after me, kids: Being a Republican means never having to say you're sorry.

Without a doubt, WE DESERVE BETTER.

Joe Lieberman: Loves Our Leader; Hates Grandmothers

Keeping America Safe from Raging Grannies

Domestic spying on anti-war groups forces ACLU into action

( via The People's Republic of Seabrook)

It's time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that he will be the commander in chief for three more critical years and that in matters of war we undermine the president's credibility at our nation's peril.

- Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT)

In the four-plus years since the 9.11 attacks, much time, effort, and money has been expended in the effort to keep our country safe from terrorism. We've gone to war in Afghanistan, created our own home-grown terrorist threat in Iraq so we could claim to be fighting terrorism, and we've ramped up the propaganda/fear machine in this country to almost unsustainable levels. All this time, though, it would appear that our government is only just now beginning to recognize that the gravest and most significant threat to our nation's security: Seattle's Raging Grannies. Yes, America, while our attention has been focused on swarthy, unwashed men espousing violent, radical Islam, here at home a collection of seemingly benign grandmothers bearing beatific smiles and plates of oatmeal cookies poses an even more significant risk to our safety and Our Way of Life.

Man...who would have thought that the biggest threat was right here at home, baking cookies under our collective nose?

Monica Zucker and three other members of Seattle's Raging Grannies, a peace group of older women who dress in outrageous hats and sing protest songs, lifted up their voices in response Tuesday to recent Seattle P-I disclosures that they were in federal anti-terrorism files.

"Oh, we're a gaggle of grannies, urging you off of your fannies," they sang at a news conference in the downtown Seattle offices of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.

Acting on behalf of the Raging Grannies and 10 other peace groups across the state, the ACLU of Washington is demanding to know whether and why federal government anti-terrorism units are spending time and money spying on peace organizations.

The local ACLU is using the Freedom of Information Act to seek information on any surveillance from the Defense Department, the FBI and the Seattle Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Instead of wasting so much time and effort tracking radical Islamofascists in far-flung inhospitable countries, our glorious defenders of the Homeland's security could have stayed right here at home. At least they might have gotten some decent cookies out of the deal, eh?

"The government should not spy on groups engaging in peaceful political protest. The FBI should focus its efforts on actual threats and not target people because of their political views," said Kathleen Taylor, state ACLU executive director.

To those who say domestic spying is a price they are willing to pay for security, Taylor echoed critics, in and out of government, who say too much useless information gums up anti-terrorism intelligence rather than helping it.

"You can't find a needle in the haystack by adding more hay," she said.

The ACLU filed the request on its own behalf, Seattle Raging Grannies and other nonviolent religious and political anti-war groups statewide:

The American Friends Service Committee; Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane; People for Peace, Justice, and Healing; Pierce County Truth in Recruiting; Seattle Peace Chorus; Sound Nonviolent Opponents of War; United for Peace of Pierce County; Vancouver For Peace; Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation; and the Yakima Valley Peace Advocates Network.

This smacks of Cold War-era fear mongering all over again, doesn't it? Much like it did then, the government is using an external agent (then: Communism...now: the war on terrorism) to justify working to stifle dissent. No reasonable person would suggest that tracking peaceful protest groups is even tangentially related to Homeland Security. What it IS all about is silencing dissent through intimidation. Thankfully, most of these groups are not easily intimidated and they're well aware of their Constitutional free speech rights.

Representatives from local peace organizations mentioned in federal law enforcement files said it raises other concerns for them.

"In a time of war, when we are told it will be endless war, for my government to be spending to investigate the Peace Chorus is stunning, an incredible waste of money," said Martha Baskin, a member of the Seattle Peace Chorus.

Indeed, but we never know when these sorts of currently "peaceful" organizations will turn to violence in an attempt to realize their peaceful goals, do we? No, in the never ending war against dissent terrorism, one never really knows where the next threat or the next attack is coming from. So, the next time your grandmother offers you a plate of cookies, you might just want to think twice about the motives behind those cookies. Is it love...or something much more sinister? Such is the nature of the Evildoers who would threaten Our Way of Life....

The Planet of Unreality Bush Sees Progress in Iraq, Challenge in Iran Bush: US will not abandon Iraq

This is not good. The people running this country sound convinced that reality is whatever they say it is. And if they've actually strayed into the realm of genuine self-delusion -- if they actually believe the fantasies they're spinning about the bloody mess they've made in Iraq over the past three years -- then things are even worse than I thought.

It should not exactly come as news that from the Truman Balcony at the White House things look pretty rosy. What SHOULD be a matter for concern is the degree to which Our Glorious Leader and his henchmen are willing to massage reality to fit their talking points. The latest example of this is whether or not Iraq is engaged in a civil war. Apparently, 50-60 being murdered on a daily basis, while unfortunate, does not fit this Administration's definition of "civil war". After all, body counts are purely abstract (unless your children or loved ones are included in the count, of course), and since freedom is on the march, it's all good, right? In the end, who cares whether or not what is happening in Iraq fits the Administration's narrow definition of "civil war"? The end result is still the same. Innocent Iraqis are dying as a result of sectarian violence, and whether or not you believe that Iraq is embroiled in a civil war, these people are just as dead. Utlimately, the reality is the same. the only thing that changes is the how the propaganda is spun. No, reality is not what you choose it to be...and just what is the reality in Iraq?

Another sort-of terror threat 'No credible intelligence': FBI expresses vigilance for upcoming tournaments

Could something happen? Of course. Am I sick and tired of this administrations games with scaring the hell out Americans when serious threats don't really exist? Definitely. Maybe that's why the US public is turning away from the Bush administration and their claims of protecting America. The public has turned but the administration doesn't get it yet. Why should we believe anything that they have to say? How did such a non-story actually become a story? Who's pulling strings to try and play the fear card once again?

You know there is a growing sense of desperation in the White House when vague, ill-defined terror threats are allowed to leak to the press. Now comes news of a terror threat of some sort against sporting venues. What the threat entails, who is involved, and who might be at risk is unknown, but an "abundance of caution" is often Bush Administration code for using propaganda to keep the American sheeple fearful and thus in line. After all, if you're fearing for your safety, you're not very well going to be worrying about things like the economy or port security, are you? Yes, someone is going to do something horrible somewhere, to somebody, at some indeterminate point in time. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Otherwise, the terrorists will win....

Texas cities competing to increase gay tourism

TEXAS: WE'RE SO MUCH MORE THAN STEERS AND QUEERS

Or not, depending on your point of view. Before I launch myself on another one of my patented unfocused rants, I thought that introducing myself might at least be the polite thing to do. So, without further ado.... My name is Jack Cluth, and as the sole proprietor of the (not so) world-famous The People's Republic of Seabrook, I run what has come to be know as the (not so) Official Progressive Weblog of the Texas Gulf Coast©. Of course, if you think about it, that's sort of like being the best ice fisherman in Phoenix...there's not a lot of competition out there. Nonetheless, I'll take what I can get.

I am a Liberal...there, I said it, and though I'm thoroughly outnumbered in this VERY red state, I'm not about to be silenced. This is America, damnit, and if I want to piss into the prevailing wind, that's my right...and one that I take very seriously. Some would call me a rabble rouser, and they might be right. Then again, there's nothing wrong with calling someone on their ignorance, prejudice, and/or bigotry. I grew up being taught that America is (or at least was) a melting pot, and I've always valued that. Now, though, my country is progressively (no pun intended) becoming the private playground of wealthy Evangelical White Christians, Social Conservatives, and Big Business interests who value lockstep ideology and theological conformity above all else. No, we may not yet be a theocracy, but we are not far from it.

My views reflect my belief that no one has the right to tell me what to think, believe, or how to live. A friend of mine once had a car with a bumper stick on it that read "THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH REPUBLICANS". That person had no idea just how close to the truth that thought is.

Join me, then, as I attempt to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. You'll need to bring an open mind and a healthy appreciation for Progressive ideals. Welcome, and please be certain that your seatbelts are fastened and your tray tables are in the upright and locked position. ;p)