Bit of a long quote, but Paul Begala writes:
A new CNN-USA TODAY/Gallup poll says that 52 percent of the residents of Tom DeLay's district in Texas have an unfavorable opinion of him. Just 37 percent view him favorably.
My question is: who are the 37 percent?
Are they fundamentalists? I can't imagine it. I'm a Catholic, but I used to love going to Vacation Bible School with my fundamentalist friends. I never heard a preacher say it was okay to help gambling lobbyists or support cigarette companies, or help rum-makers - all things Congressman DeLay has done.
Could they be veterans? I doubt it. As a teenager I worked at Court's True Value Hardware. Mr. Court's Uncle Buster fought at Corregidor and survived the Bataan Death March. He suffered for three and a half years as a POW and served for three decades as Constable. I doubt Uncle Buster would think kindly of a congressman who said he didn't serve because all those lucky minorities took all the good slots in Vietnam.
Whoever they are, the folks who approve of Tom DeLay are now in the minority. DeLay trails an unnamed Democrat by 13 points, and his real opponent, former Congressman Nick Lampson, is a Democrat whose roots in the district run so deep he's kin to Uncle Buster.
The trick in a safe district like Sugar Land is keeping the election far from partisanship. If the vote is a referendum on DeLay, he'll lose. If, as Matt put it, the question becomes how much Democrats hate the baby Jesus, DeLay will win. Unnamed Democrat always stomps the competition because named Republican can't attack him. Give the phantom progressive a face, however, and conservatives will punch it in. Last week, I argued that Democrats had accidentally stumbled on the perfect strategy for destroying the Bush administration: deny them any prominent Democrats to attack by staffing the leadership with charisma-challenged, low-key parliamentarians. Well played. Similarly, Nick Lampson's success will hinge on how effectively he can fade into the background while DeLay throws roundhouses before the cameras.
