Dancing With The Czars

Not photoshopped

My neighbor Cynthia keeps me up on some aspects of the world I miss. Lately she's been telling me how graceful indicted former Congressman Tom DeLay is on a television dance contest. A few days ago she told me that DeLay wouldn't get kicked off right away- but that Ashley Hamilton would. I had never heard of him; he must be a state legislator or city councilman from somewhere. And sure enough, on our hike this morning, she was able to report that Ashley is gone, DeLay remains to fight another week and Macy Gray was also booted.

It isn't bad enough that DeLay still isn't in a federal penitentiary, but to having him dancing in contests is just galling. I'd say I'll never watch that program again but I've never even considered watching it ever. Nonetheless, I checked the latest SUSA polling to see if they have any stats on this. And-- eureka-- they do. It turns out that a huge plurality-- 44%-- were ready to see DeLay voted off the island last night. (#2 was Hamilton with 12%.)

In between pirouettes, the right-wing fancy dancer-- who does get another week on the little screen-- tells reporters that the GOP is leaderless and useless:

"Republicans will pick up some seats in the House, maybe 20, but not enough to take back control."

Shaking his head with frustration, he added, "The Republican Party doesn't have the organization or leadership to take advantage of this dire political situation that Obama is in now. We have these grassroots sprouting up, but not the party organization to use them."

"Republicans are leaderless,'' he went on, "so we're just fighting each other instead of Obama's radical policies. There's no political leader of the party taking control. So, Republicans are just attacking each other for being too far right or too far left. Even Rush and Hannity are doing it."
So who does DeLay see as the GOP's up-and-comers? "No one," he replied in exasperation. "It's all the same old guys who were in leadership with me, and those old guys aren't the leaders the party needs."

He couldn't name one viable leader for the Republicans, saying that the party has no chance, "barring a miracle," of regaining the House or Senate next year.

On the other hand since you made me go over and check out the new SUSA polling data-- and though neither is dancing on TV-- SUSA found that neither Kentucky senator, not Jim Bunning and not Miss McConnell, has a decent approval rating. The leader of the Republican obstructionist jihad against President Obama in the Senate, McConnell, has a 47% approval and a 48% didapproval. Bunning, who is infirm, senile and barely functioning-- but a 100% no vote against anything and everything that could ever be parsed to look like it might help a working family-- has a 35% approval and a 55% disapproval.