Tom DeLay: 'I have always believed you
should study and learn from the enemy'.
Posted on 11/03/2007 8:15:12 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
For a decade, Tom DeLay ruthlessly enforced Republican rule in Washington with such vigour that he was nicknamed "The Hammer".
But the party's former leader in the House of Representatives will this month launch a national grassroots movement to combat the liberal activists who he believes outfoxed and outmanoeuvred Republicans to win the 2006 mid-term elections.
Mr DeLay, who revelled in his reputation as a no-holds-barred Washington operator as the party's chief whip and then majority leader from 1995 to 2005, aims to instil an army of conservatives across the country with his political street-fighting skills.
Tom DeLay: 'I have always believed you
should study and learn from the enemy'.
Funded by undisclosed Right-wing backers and inspired by the successful tactics of his liberal foes, thousands of recruits to the Coalition for a Conservative Majority (CCM) will be trained and mobilised to wage political war in meetings, online and in the media.
In one tactic borrowed straight from the opposition playbook, CCM volunteers will be issued with video cameras to pursue Democratic politicians in the hope of capturing a so-called 'YouTube' moment if they say or do something embarrassing or contradictory.
"In my business and political life, I have always believed you should study and learn from the enemy," Mr DeLay, 60, told The Sunday Telegraph on the eve of a trip to Britain to take part in an Oxford Union debate on Thursday about the US presidential elections.
The combative Texan resigned as a congressman in 2006 while under investigation for alleged campaign finance law breaches — charges he denies - and dogged by his links to a disgraced lobbyist who is now serving a prison sentence.
Some Republicans blame the scandals for their defeats last year, but Mr DeLay believes he was targeted as part of a long-term operation to regain power which was launched by Democrats after George W Bush won the 2000 election.
"When Bush came to power, the Clintonistas didn't just skip town looking for work," said Mr DeLay, who remains an influential and popular figure with the party's Right-wing faithful. "They stayed in Washington and formed dozens of political groups to push their liberal agenda and built the most impressive political coalition I've ever witnessed.
"This is the network that beat conservatives in 2006, and that was just the warm-up."
He is scathing about the lack of unity and leadership in the conservative movement and holds out little prospects that the Republicans can hold on to the White House, despite the creation of his new grouping.
"The Republican party is in total disarray, it's demoralised and it's trying to find itself," he said.
"None of the leading Republican candidates have really caught on, and if the Republicans don't get their act together soon, it will be too late. In the polls, the party's frontrunner is Undecided. And at the moment, Undecided gets my endorsement.
"By contrast, the Democrats are the most united of any party I've seen in years. Hillary Clinton is clearly favourite to win this election."
Mr DeLay will be returning to Britain for the first time since a now infamous trip in 2000 with top lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who was last year sentenced to 70 months in jail for fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion.
On that visit, he met Lady Thatcher, one of his political heroes, and played golf at St Andrews. This time, he will be opposing the motion that 'This House looks forward to seeing a Democrat in the White House' in a debate with Rev Al Sharpton, the fiery preacher.
After his trip to Britain, Mr DeLay will unveil details of the CCM's staffing, strategy and its first chapters as part of a nationwide roll-out. "This is a long-term plan. It took the Democrats six years after 2000 to get to where they were in 2006 and we know it will take us time too," he said.
His target is to combat a well-organised coalition of liberal pressure groups led by moveon.org, whose backers include billionaire financier George Soros.
This so-called 'Netroots' movement was quick to recognise the power of the Internet for politics.
In one notable incident, George Allen, a sitting Republican senator heading for re-election, was caught by an opposition activist with a video camera allegedly using an obscure racial epithet. The footage was posted online, Mr Allen lost by a wafer-thin margin and the Democrats captured the Senate with a single-seat majority.
It is not the first time that Mr DeLay has tried to re-shape the political landscape. As well as enforcing party discipline on Capitol Hill, he was also one of the forces behind the highly successful 'K Street Project' to place Republicans in senior positions in the powerful lobbying industry (which is traditionally located around that Washington address).
He is looking forward to the new battle. "We need to get in there and mix it up with them," he said.
"That's what I'm all about."
About damn time somebody did this.
If only this guy was my Rep, I’d go to his office Monday afternoon and ask him how I could help. I’m stuck with Chris Shays.
Thank you Jesus and Tom Delay too!
ronnie earle, the d.a. of travis county
took out delay.
earle’s been up to this for decades; you’d think the pubies would wake up.
for example, earle brought false charges against then texas secy of state kay bailey hutchinson.
earle did not show up at court with evidence.
I duno who is worse, Earl or Fitsy!
Too little, too late DeLay. You should have been doing this when Bush was doing his ridiculous New Tone crap to the Democrats.
More power to him!
But there is already enough to sink the Dems on U-Tube, it just gets avoided like the plague by the Lamestream media.
Hope this is a sur nuf deal. Delay is sure the right guy for the job!!
He’s got me on his side and ready to start hammerin the libs.
Al Sharpton at Oxford debating society? That's black tie. Racism.
yitbosyitbos
Stalking the liberals to catch them in a "macaca moment" is definitely a good idea.
“About damn time somebody did this.”
Man do we need this.
Hallelujah!!
If I decide to crack open my checkbook again for political activism, it will be only for efforts like this. The spineless floundering cowards of the GOP ain’t getting any, that’s for sure.
I’ve been waiting for years for somebody to come along who was willing to go down, way down to the bottom of the sewer to fight the scumbag Democrats where they live.
For the Republicans to win big, they need a process that will reform their current operations. It has to begin with the party itself, then move to both houses of Congress, and the preparation for the next Presidential fight in 2011.
First of all, the party needs a simple message, not seen since the Contract With America. Now, no message will meet with universal acceptance, but if they focus on 10 points that most Republican candidates will sign on to, and are clearly stated to the Republican rank and file, that alone could propel them to victory. A clear message will generally win an election.
Second, party discipline must go hand in hand with the message. Whether an incumbent is reelected, or when a new candidate wins office, they must not believe for a moment that they are now “free agents” from the party, and can wheel and deal on their own.
They must live and breathe rewards and punishments from the party. This means they must know ahead of time where the party stands on every issue, the job of the party whip. If they vote with the party, they accumulate IOUs that can eventually be “cashed” for the small, more local issues they care about. If they vote against the party, even on conscience, they must expect that they will be punished, and their job will be a little harder. Often it may be worth it to them.
But knowledge, rewards and punishments must be clear as a bell to them. Only after discipline exists can they be given any latitude in “voting how they feel”.
Candidates for President in 2011 must begin their preparations now. George W. Bush won the Republican primary for President before the first debate, by locking up every big dollar contributor the party had. He began building the Crawford Ranch as his “Texas White House” before the primary season had begun as well. This is called “strategy”, and it is how you win.
Senators, those undisciplined bunch of rabid raccoons, must be made to heel to the party. This is much harder than controlling Congressmen, because Senators are harder to unseat. But several Republican Senators need to be sacrificed, because win or lose, they stand against the broadest parts of the Republican agenda. Always have and always will.
The full force of the national party is needed to put the fear back into them—they have sabotaged the agenda long enough.
I wouldn’t worry.
Right needs might.
Now if Tom DeLay teams with David Horowitz we’ll have something to get excited about.
picky..picky..picky
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