"When a man is in trouble or in a good fight, you want to have your friends around, preferably armed." Tom DeLay
Attention: Former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has finally been convicted for money laundering and conspiracy to violate election laws. He has been sentenced to five three years in prison.
When I learned that, I did a little happy dance. Solo. Not on the set of Dancing with the Stars. Yes! I thought. Thank you! It's about time!
Especially this week.
If you don't remember Rep. Tom DeLay, you should. Not as a puffy, dancing wannabe TV star. But as a puffed-up, real life DC power broker whose actions arguably contributed to the recent horrific events in Tucson.
Tom DeLay's greatest and most dangerous legacy affects us all. And must not be ignored.
Why?
The federal ban on assault weapons. It expired in 2004. It was not reinstated.
Why not?
Majority Leader Tom DeLay, aka "The Hammer," led the NRA's successful charge through Congress to ban that ban. Especially ...wait for it... to keep the Glock pistol legal and available to all. No limit on ammo, no carry permit needed.
And, of course, DeLay profited along the way. Talk about blood money.
Glock 19
A top contributor to DeLay was a gun manufacturer called Atlantis Arms. The biggest seller of ...wait for it... Glocks.
Trumpeted on their web site:
"Several million Glock pistols are sold in over 100 countries to government and civilian customers [emphasis mine], underlining Glock's dominant role of the market.Apparently, so do deranged assassins. And craven NRA-owned politicians who make the sad, twisted efforts of psychopaths so much easier.
Police and military agencies worldwide rely upon the Glock pistol for its high level of performance and value."
Tom DeLay and the NRA
The powerful legislator was an unapologetic gun-totin front man for the NRA. He took major NRA campaign contributions through his "Texans for a Republican Majority" PAC in return for his support to limit lawsuits against gun manufacturers. And to protect their right to sell deadly assault weapons.
There's more. Only a very few states regulate the use of large-capacity ammunition magazines -- like the one used by Jared Lee Loughner in Tucson. Thanks largely to DeLay's dedicated nationwide Conservative congressional leadership. Arizona doesn't regulate them. Neither does DeLay's home state of Texas.
The Hammer did lose one battle. All but three states require a permit to carry a concealed weapon, especially an assault weapon. Arizona, Vermont (huh?) and, not Texas, but ...wait for it... Alaska. You betcha!
Back when Tom DeLay was first investigated, he turned to his friends in the NRA for public support. Showed up at their annual convention and was "vindicated" by the approving hoots and hollers of thousands of NRA members.
Oh yeah, this is definitely the group we want guiding the moral compass of Tom DeLay or any other elected official. No matter, he was already an alleged liar, cheat and crook. Now it's official.
Tom DeLay didn't win Dancing with the Stars, but he's my choice for top honors as a solid gold Congressional Felon.
One caveat: he cares about Women's Rights. Seriously? You decide.
Duracoat Glock 
Ladies, Lock and Load
At that same convention Tom DeLay, praising the NRA's initiative to teach women how to shoot guns, made this incredible (and incredibly prescient) statement, "If you want to empower women in America, give 'em a gun."
Exhibit A: Sarah Palin
Her gun-totin charismatic ability to attract and mobilize possibly the most outrageous and dangerous grass roots movement in American history should make us all fear for the future of our democracy. If not our own lives.
Nothing she likes better than to grab the nearest gun and pose with it to underline her politics. From my viewpoint, it only serves to highlight her lunacy.
I've made fun of her because, well, it was almost too easy. Palin seemed so meatless, a Political Vegan. Not any more.
It's become clear the woman is a loose cannon on a mission. She's shrill, mean-spirited, high school pep rally gung-ho, ready to rally supporters at the drop of a "g."
Sarah Palin may seem 'dumb like a fox' but deep down she's an ignorant, sexist, racist, homophobic idiot. A gun-toting, creationist, anti-environmentalist, big oil, pro-war, Pro-Life, anti-gay, fundamentalist, Secessionist, book banning, lying hypocrite. It's damn scary that so many people worship the ground she shoots on.
No, Sarah Palin didn't grab that particular gun and shoot up Tucson. She joined Tom DeLay in contributing to the domino effect of Gun Culture Dissent that inevitably leads to private and public violence.
Where is the Intelligent Majority who should be rising up against Palin and her Tea Party army?
Pay to Play with the NRA
We are reeling from Ultra Conservative Overload in our government, a gun lobbying juggernaut and a well organized crackpot brigade. All helping powerful Republicans advance radical agendas and get away with personal corruption. And murder.
It's time Our Side had a win. Even if that win is soured by its connection to the wounding and deaths of innocent people.
No, Tom DeLay didn't pull that particular trigger either. He just made sure anybody and everybody had the right and the ability to get that incredibly deadly weapon.
Real hunters know there's no sport in killing deer with an assault weapon. Real killers know there's no problem killing lots of people with a high capacity Glock.
I know, DeLay's conviction is penny ante. But at least one powerful gun lobby politician has been smacked off the radar. If only current legislators owned by the gun lobby would see DeLay as an object lesson. If only they were more concerned about public unease. And safety.
DeLay's conviction is the tip of a deep, ugly iceberg threatening to capsize our unbalanced ship of state. Palin and the Tea Party's popularity are clear symptoms of public unease, alienation and anger.
Everybody has a breaking point. Popular, powerful figures like Palin and DeLay who front for the NRA and tout the beauty of owning guns are feeding a very unstable beast.
Guns don't kill people. People with guns kill people!
TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Max Rivlin-Nadler
drlaura2
Kristina Lakes
mhold
L in the Southeast
Jane Brogan
Salon.com
Comments
As for the guns, Palin and all the over-the-top rhetoric...don't get me started. It pisses me off so badly, I can't discuss it.
EXACTLY!!
Rated.
Lezlie
And, if DeLay actually goes to prison, it'll be a soft, low-security place, with no Bubbas.
From the POV of someone who is not an American, America's thing with guns is totally insane. A lot of the problem is that legislators under your system are all independent operators - and bribery of them is legal.
And those are her "good" points!
-R-
The stability of this nation's psyche is teetering, dare I say, in the wrong direction. Thanks for the piece Sally.
I love your take on things too. Great post.
Once all the hissing and chattering in the wake of Tucson has died down we'll be entering a stretch of civility similar to that we enjoyed when Carter took the reins from a disgraced Republican cabal three decades ago. I believe the fallout over Tucson will greatly improve Barack Obama's chances for a second term.
If Delay is the devil, then the NRA is hell.
Delay's nickname shouldn't be The Hammer, but something more in keeping with his resume and his NRA cred -- The Exterminator. He is the poster boy for everything wrong with politics in America. Like his co-conspirator, Jack Abramof, he is a true-believer in his cause and in the notion that the ends justify the means -- especially if you're paid well for using those means.
Just as you said of Palin, he is "an ignorant, sexist, racist, homophobic idiot. A gun-toting, creationist, anti-environmentalist, big oil, pro-war, Pro-Life, anti-gay, fundamentalist, Secessionist, book banning, lying hypocrite."
Guns don't kill people; People influenced by politicians implying that shooting political opponents is OK kill people.
Too long for a bumper sticker?
I'm appalled by the comments to your post. Writers here, writers anywhere, should have some sense of human nature, of people, of pain, dysfunction and, well, the human condition. William Saroyan should be around these days.
These people speak in sound bytes that mean nothing.
Latethink says: "I hope these conservatives are in for some backlash againist all of these destructive policies. "
WHAT destructive policies? Name names. What the hell are you talking about?
Tinkersomething writes: "Guns don't kill people. People with guns kill people."
Wow! Talk about a mindless cliche that says nothing but the obvious while ignoring the nature of the people who killed a people. PEOPLE, people. Some are crazy, nuts, schitzo, sad, bullied, abused, in pain, brain damaged -- and you use THEM to rail against guns. You're riding the backs of sick people to make your anti-gun point. When you think about it, it's shameful.
And here comed Markinjapan: the all-knowing, reader of other people's souls, especially those he has no contact with: "Sarah Palin may seem 'dumb like a fox' but deep down she's an ignorant, sexist, racist, homophobic idiot. A gun-toting, creationist, anti-environmentalist, big oil, pro-war, Pro-Life, anti-gay, fundamentalist, Secessionist, book banning, lying hypocrite."
Back it up with facts, Markowhatever your name is. Lay out support for all your vitriolic name-calling that your side accuses the right of doing.
And Matt Proust: venturing into pundit-speak: "Palin's political dead. It's tragic that it took the murder of a 9-year-old girl to bring into unavoidable clarity the Palen/Limbaugh/Beck et. al. dissonance in our public consciousness, but now the wider electorate is forced to weigh its own essential values against reckless posturing. "
What the f***? Dissonance? The Left is the dissonance. They are poll-wise twenty percent of the electorate, but they control much of the media. Look around this place. Is there any debate about real issues? No. Only the circle-jerking of like-mided leftists wringing their hands, piling on and just plain avoiding real thinking.
And the dependable Tom Cordle: "Just as you said of Palin, he is "an ignorant, sexist, racist, homophobic idiot. A gun-toting, creationist, anti-environmentalist, big oil, pro-war, Pro-Life, anti-gay, fundamentalist, Secessionist, book banning, lying hypocrite."
The amazing Kreskin. How does he know this s**t? Is he a shrink? A very close friend? Family member? A person who's been following the ins and outs of DeLay's case? Naaaaah. Just a liberal, agenda-driven spewer.
And the piece de resistance: The Great KosherSalami says: "Guns don't kill people; People influenced by politicians implying that shooting political opponents is OK kill people."
Now, how about showing your work. What politicians have implied that shooting political opponents is OK. Don't mention the Archery bullseyes on Palin's site. Bob Bechel, Democrat hero, acknowledged that this is what they all do, himself included, on sites where they want to "TARGET" people they're going after. STANDARD and CLASSIC language for both parties in all contests. The liberal left, in their mindless insanity driven by a rigid, totalitarian agenda, CHOSE to transform those words into something they think is useful to their cause.
Then Femme Forte: "delay, pain and the nra. i used to think they were representative of the fringe of the GOP; these days they *are* the GOP. makes me shudder."
Ooooooooo. Shudder, shudder. You KNOW, Femme, that they are ALL the GOP? Give us your evidence, instead of the squishy, mindless, FEELING you haven't put any thought into.
SALLY: Love YOU. You hangers-on need serious work.
"Sarah Palin may seem 'dumb like a fox' but deep down she's an ignorant, sexist, racist, homophobic idiot. A gun-toting, creationist, anti-environmentalist, big oil, pro-war, Pro-Life, anti-gay, fundamentalist, Secessionist, book banning, lying hypocrite. It's damn scary that so many people worship the ground she shoots on."
You've done what we should have been doing for the last three years: counter the lies with the well reasoned truth, relentlessly and without the meaningless blathering from the so-called liberal leadership.
We are not going to get the media exposure that the right has been handed, but articles like yours will go a long way toward slowing down the damage that those three entities have done.
Zumapick!
latethink, I'd like to see some backlash against Conservatives too.
Tink, wow, a 'Tink Pick' made my day!
devilgrrl, I like this: "Dancing with the Stars to Dancing Behind Bars!" If only it would come true.
Lunchlady, maybe there's a Bubba on the outside who could show him the light...
Lezlie, thank you. Fellow ranters unite!
Myriad, I was using irony, not advocating rape. Perhaps lost in translation? We speak the same language when it comes to America's gun culture, and lack of true lobbying oversight, both of which are out of control.
Mo Rocca on "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" just described SP as the whole country's ''ex-girlfriend you're obsessed with." I just want her to GO AWAY.
Sparking, I doubt it will be justice in the end, DeLay still knows how to work the system. At least he's on record as a convicted felon... but that could make him a Neocon hero.
Charlie, thank you, and what I just said to Sparking.
Matt, I hope you're right but I'm not betting the farm on it. Palin's headlining a gun show next week, which will be packed with adoring fans. Compared to today's wackos, in and out of government, 30 years is a lifetime ago.
Cranky, it took me a whole post to say what you said in one sentence: "When I see DeLay's picture, I see a man with no soul."
Sheila, T/Y.
Tom, as always you add the extra nails. At this point in time, I think DeLay's nickname "The Hammer" should stick... it always made me think of a cocked hammer on a gun.
ksal, maybe a little too long for a bumper sticker, but right on target, so to speak.
Candy, you're right and it's very scary that the former "fringe" is now running the show. Much less benign than the hippie fringe of the Boomer generation.
xeno, holey moley, a Zumapick! I have arrived. And I do wish more would get on board and call the bastards out.
mginmn, I'm with you, but the sad truth is that exes Never go away... they stay and haunt us.
I've worked with prisoners, and prison rape is at least in the same league as rape of women....not a joke, not a subject for jocular 'ironic' references.
Had the founding fathers envisioned the devastating crowd-killers of the future, my guess is that they would have written the second amendment much more carefully.
Snippy, few countries in the world have the kind of gun culture as America. And we are very high up on the murder and violence list. Amazing, considering how supposedly 'civilized' we are.
With all due respect, Matt, I think that's rather optimistic. One incident like last week's shootings won't change the current cryptofascistic political climate significantly. And it didn't knock a wheel off the Republican Party honey truck, it only gave it a flat tire. Fox News and Citizens United should have it back on the road in no time. And do you remember what happened to Mr. Carter in 1980? Granted, Mr. Reagan had a great deal of help from Ayatollah Khomeini, but you see my point.
Guns don't kill people -- insurance companies and politicians kill people.
I'd like to put that slogan on a few thousand strategically-placed billboards.
As for the pink Glock pictured above, I wonder if Sarah Palin knows about these people? I'm not too crazy about their philosophy, though I can certainly understand where they're coming from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Pistols