Speaking of DeLay

Steve Gilliard proffers a big "FU" to Tom and family--then gives his own theory about Tom's Russian junket:

Fuck Tom DeLay, his wife and spawn.

I just wanted to say that because it needed to be said...

The Russians are very subtle in using espionage, and creating agents of influence.

This was not random, it was not accidental. My belief is that DeLay was cultivated by the SVR (the KGB's external successor)...

What this means is that the SVR has a large and detailed file on DeLay, and knew his weaknesses...

The SVR and the Russian government were not only committed to saving the Serbs, their traditional allies, but in blunting Western influence, especially German and French influence in the Balkans. What they needed was someone to stop Clinton and Major, then Blair from intervening and crushing their allies. The Croats, with help from Dynacorp and other merceneries, retrained their Army and blew the Serbs away in a blitz. The Russians didn't want that to happen in Bosnia or what was exploding in Kosovo. So they had probably worked for a cuple of years to get to people near DeLay. They knew his weaknesses were arrogance and money...

Now, they would never say "hey, we're Russians, do our bidding", but they knew from their Washington station that he was eager to make Clinton look bad at any price and was greedy as well.

So, knowing DeLay's outsized ego and his penchant for gifts, they lay on this trip. Now, I don't think they mentioned this between tee shots, I think they worked in how the Muslims were backing the Bosnians and Kosovans and that Clinton was in over his head and that the best way to handle the region was to leave it to the Europeans. It was never ham handed, for one thing. It was never as overt as a bribe. All they wanted from DeLay was to know he would listen to their side. That's all they needed.

Click on the link above to read the whole thing. Then, if you don't mind viewing an ad (or if you've got a subscription) this Salon story nicely summarizes Citizen Tom's recent and less recent lapses.

Short (bus) version: the man is not merely ethically challenged. He is ethically retarded.