When appearing before the House Government Reform Committee last week, Mark McGwire didn't want to talk about his past. It was an appropriate place to develop historical amnesia. Over the last four years the Committee hasn't tried to investigate, let alone reform, any government scandals whatsoever. Steroids in baseball--yes, but falsified WMD evidence, Halliburton no-bid contracts, the outing of a CIA operative--no.
But the real 'roids outrage of the week was the Republicans' decision to violate conservative ideals about state rights, limited government, and the sanctity of marriage by muscling into the Terri Schiavo tragedy. Never let it be said that Republicans let their principles get in the way of their politics. (The last time they interfered with the Florida judiciary was Bush v. Gore.)
Like McGwire and other ex-baseballers looking to save face, Tom DeLay wants to change the subject from his far more insidious and scandal-ridden past. He was front and center in this weekend's cable news-ready, theater of  the absurd performance. But to be fair, perhaps he does feel a certain degree of empathy for Schiavo. As the fund-raising and junket scandals continue to deprive him of the two sources of sustenance for politicians (credibility and cash), it seems only a matter of time before his colleagues pull the plug on his political life.
Katrina vanden Heuvel
When appearing before the House Government Reform Committee last week, Mark McGwire didn’t want to talk about his past. It was an appropriate place to develop historical amnesia. Over the last four years the Committee hasn’t tried to investigate, let alone reform, any government scandals whatsoever. Steroids in baseball–yes, but falsified WMD evidence, Halliburton no-bid contracts, the outing of a CIA operative–no.
But the real ‘roids outrage of the week was the Republicans’ decision to violate conservative ideals about state rights, limited government, and the sanctity of marriage by muscling into the Terri Schiavo tragedy. Never let it be said that Republicans let their principles get in the way of their politics. (The last time they interfered with the Florida judiciary was Bush v. Gore.)
Like McGwire and other ex-baseballers looking to save face, Tom DeLay wants to change the subject from his far more insidious and scandal-ridden past. He was front and center in this weekend’s cable news-ready, theater of the absurd performance. But to be fair, perhaps he does feel a certain degree of empathy for Schiavo. As the fund-raising and junket scandals continue to deprive him of the two sources of sustenance for politicians (credibility and cash), it seems only a matter of time before his colleagues pull the plug on his political life.
Katrina vanden HeuvelTwitterKatrina vanden Heuvel is editor and publisher of The Nation, America’s leading source of progressive politics and culture. An expert on international affairs and US politics, she is an award-winning columnist and frequent contributor to The Guardian. Vanden Heuvel is the author of several books, including The Change I Believe In: Fighting for Progress in The Age of Obama, and co-author (with Stephen F. Cohen) of Voices of Glasnost: Interviews with Gorbachev’s Reformers.