TOM DELAY GETS A TASTE OF HIS OWN MEDICINE

12 May 2005 // For House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Tex., preaching about the importance of humility is akin to former President Bill Clinton extolling the virtues of marital fidelity.

But DeLay did it anyway last week before the National Prayer Breakfast, a yearly pseudo-religious event that offers politicians a public opportunity to display how pious they are. As his ethics problems deepened and his political future darkened, DeLay urged his audience to "spend less time ducking responsibility and more time welcoming it, less time on our soapboxes and more time on our knees."

Actually, the House bully wouldn't recognize humility if it walked up and tapped him on the shoulder. "It is in the virtue of humility that all other virtues are preconditioned," DeLay said.

Oh, brother. Can you still keep your last meal down?

This is the partisan who railed against Clinton and demanded his impeachment because Clinton should not presume to be above the law. Today, DeLay acts as though he and his buddy lobbyists are the ones above the law. And today those lobbyists are tossing DeLay a tribute that will feature a bunch of speeches about how wonderfully he has championed what the invitation calls "conservative principles in the Congress."

The dinner is officially sponsored by the American Conservative Union Foundation and tickets cost $250 a seat. Some 850 paying guests are expected. How many will want their picture taken with the honoree is another question.

The political problem is that the dinner may be seen not as a demonstration of DeLay's continuing intimidating clout, but as a farewell gesture from former friends leaving his sinking ship. Both kinds of dinners are a tradition in Washington.

DeLay's problems are now so extensive and complex that the saga will unravel slowly over many months. His 14 trips paid for by private interests worth some $94,000 since 2000 represent the most conspicuous travel excesses.

But other lawmakers also took trips with dubious financing, including Democrats. The House ethics rules are so confusing and loophole-prone that the whole flap is constraining other members from making legitimate trips. The republic, however, will survive if they all stay home. There's plenty of unfinished business to keep them busy here.

DeLay's future is grim. A scandal tsunami is hard to survive, particularly if the target has been at the forefront of self-righteous partisan assaults on the opposition -- as DeLay has.

Nothing is more dangerous in politics than hypocrisy exposed. The bad publicity has focused attention on the vast fundraising machine he developed, including his political campaign, his PAC and his charity, the DeLay Foundation for Kids.

His defense has been to whip up a frenzy over religious issues, claim "everybody does it" (they don't) and accuse his critics of aiming not at his behavior but the whole conservative movement.

But three of his allies have been indicted in Texas. He lost his sneaky ploy to avoid House scrutiny by weakening the ethics committee -- embarrassed House Republicans felt it wise to reverse the changes. Nevertheless he will be reviewed by Republican members who owe him favors.

His own once-safe Texas district is still heavily Republican but recent polls suggest growing disillusionment. Thirty-four percent of those surveyed by a Fox News poll --Fox, folks! -- held an unfavorable view of DeLay; only 21 percent viewed him favorably.

The day may come soon when we don't have Tom DeLay to kick around any more.