The Nation.



I Think I Heard a Liberal Say

Deadline Poet

By Calvin Trillin

This article appeared in the October 24, 2005 edition of The Nation.

October 6, 2005

I think I heard a liberal say
To Ronnie Earle, "Hooray! Hooray!
Because you finally made my day
When you indicted Tom DeLay.
They'll never fashion, come what may,
An ethics rule that he'd obey.
He works the shadowed shades of gray.
The moment that his side held sway,
He made the lobbyists on K
Just hire those who thought his way,
Then pay and pay and pay and pay.
For access, he did pay-to-play.
The Congress of the USA
Became the cages of Bombay.

"So here's what I'd like for The Hammer:
A whole bunch of years in the slammer."

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About Calvin Trillin

Calvin Trillin is The Nation's "deadline poet." He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1963 and has written the syndicated weekly column "Uncivil Liberties" since 1986. He has authored many, many books, including Tepper's Not Going Out and Deadline Poet: My Life as a Doggerelist. more...

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