House Republicans give support to DeLay

Of course they do. From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

House Republicans expressed strong support for Majority Leader Tom DeLay today, dismissing persistent Democratic criticism of the Texan as evidence of partisan politics.

"I don't see any wavering of the support for the leader. I think a lot of members think he's taking arrows for all of us," said Rep. Roy Blunt, third-ranking among GOP leaders.

Blunt and others spoke out on DeLay's behalf as Democrats leveled a new charge — that the ethical controversy surrounding him was distracting from congressional efforts to tackle pressing problems.

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The line of thinking I've been following on the left side of the blogosphere is that this typical, lockstep support for DeLay is a good thing. Because there is so much of a mainstream media buzz about DeLay's corruption, because most Americans were opposed to his meddling in the Schiavo affair, Republican support for their House Majority Leader undermines Republican credibility in general. The idea is that the GOP could conceivably be revealed as the bunch of lying criminals that it is if it persists in backing DeLay. My buddy Kevin thinks that this analysis is a bunch of bullshit, that DeLay will be given the Trent Lott treatment, allowing the GOP to continue to rape the world, and he's probably right. But it's nice to dream the occasional impossible dream. I mean, it's possible. Right?

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