"Reid drops a giant stink bomb in DeLay's hometown paper."

Above quote and below excerpt courtesy of Eschaton. From the Houston Chronicle opinion section, an anti-DeLay essay by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid:

In 1977, I was appointed chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission. It was a difficult time for the gaming industry and Las Vegas, which were being overrun by organized crime. To that point in my life, I had served in the Nevada Assembly and even as lieutenant governor, but nothing prepared me for my fight with the mob.

Over the next few years, there would be threats on my life, bribes, FBI stings and even a car bomb placed in my family's station wagon. It was a terrifying experience, but at the end of the day, we cleaned up Las Vegas and ushered in a new era of responsibility.

My term on the gaming commission came to an end in 1981, and when it did, I thought I had seen such corruption for the last time. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. It is not quite the mafia of Las Vegas in the 1970s, but what is happening today in Washington is every bit as corrupt and the consequences for our country have been severe.

Our nation's capital has been overrun by organized crime — Tom DeLay-style.

Click here for the rest.

Well, my hometown's TV stations chickened out, but kudos go out to the Chronicle for not being intimidated by DeLay's Mafia style tactics. And good thing Atrios picked up on this essay; while I generally keep up with the Chronicle online, I haven't been reading the editorials lately--this flew in right under my radar.

And what a great essay it is. The DeLay/Abramoff style of political corruption is, indeed, very much like organized crime. The whole bribery-for-legislation thing totally depends on everybody involved keeping their mouths shut; likewise, if one of the central players does talk, the entire racket comes crashing down. Compare Michael Corleone's successful efforts to keep Frankie Pentangeli from testifying before Congress in The Godfather: Part II with the GOP's utter failure to accomplish the same thing with Jack Abramoff in real life. The only difference is the Corleone family's competence. And sense of honor.

Hell, at this point, I'd be willing to settle for rule by Godfather. I don't see how it could be any worse than what we have now.




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