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Sept. 5, 2008

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: What does 'doing the right thing' entail?

Caroline B. Glick: The master strategist

Sept. 4, 2008

Ron Kampeas: Biden, Palin take lead in clash on Mideast issues

Bruce Dancis: With humor as their weapon, the Three Stooges took on Hitler

Sept. 3, 2008

Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg: Productive school years don't just happen

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Quick lamb stew serves up flavors of India

Sept. 2, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Costly Advice

Caroline B. Glick: Calling Israel's bluff

JWisdom: Wandering in Wonder by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

August 29, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: 20/20 sightlessness

Caroline B. Glick: When history is not repeated

JWisdom: Blessed or Cursed: It's Really Up to You by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

August 28, 2008

Steve Lipman: A Comeback for the 'Jewish Jordan'

Jeffrey Weiss: Researcher reports 'intriguing' diabetes breakthrough

August 27, 2008

Rabbi Zecharya Greenwald: Removing the perfectionist's mask

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Nunn: Summer harvest linguine

JWisdom:: The Missing Link in Spiritual Life by Rabbi David Aaron

August 26, 2008

Yaffa Ganz: Grandma gets lessons in staying cool

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: The Dems' 'soft' jihadist

JWisdom:: Today: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Plague of indifference

August 25, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: A friend is bearing a silly grudge from a supposed wrong. What recourse do I have?

Daniel Pipes: Barack Obama through Muslim Eyes

JWisdom:: The knowledge you need to overcome your insecurities by Malka Schulman

August 22, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: Life's essential ingredient

Caroline B. Glick: Dominos anyone?

JWisdom:: Actually, Do Sweat the Small Stuff! by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

August 21, 2008

Today in Biblical History by Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Popularization of Kabbalah: 20 Menachem-Av 1558 CE

Jonathan Rosenblum: Lessons from the Beyond

JWisdom: : The Olympian within is rooting for you -- yes, you! –- to go for the gold

August 20, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Misleading Platform Platitudes

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Chicken Salad with Asian Dressing

JWisdom: The Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith: America's Defense of the Jews --- Until WWII by Rabbi Nosson Scherman

August 19, 2008

Dennis Prager: If the Almighty doesn't exist

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Obama's Islamist problem has nothing to do with his upbringing

JWisdom: Think your life is messed up? by Rabbi David Aaron

August 18, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Business with Friends

Diana West: Roars About Russia, Bare Whispers About Islam

JWisdom: Relationship agony: The real cause by Malka Schulman

August 15, 2008

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: To love the Divine

Caroline B. Glick: Georgia, Israel, and the nature of man

JWisdom: The Truly Righteous Don't Demand Entitlements by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

August 14, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Confessions of broken spirit

Libby Lazewnik: The Numbers Game

JWisdom: Six Questions You'll Be Asked in Heaven? - Uh - Let's Just Take One for Now! by Gavriel Aryeh Sanders

August 13, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Georgia should be on their minds

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Go Greek: Pair flavorful lamb kebabs with a hearty salad

JWisdom: Human hybrids aren't science fiction by Rabbi David Aaron

August 12, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bless us

Daniel Pipes: The West's Islamist Infiltrators

JWisdom: From Sadness to Gladness: The Route from Tisha b'Av to Rosh Hashana by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

August 11, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: A Jewish view on fair pricing

Caroline B. Glick: Ignoring failure in Gaza

JWisdom: 'Communication' Is Not The Answer! by Malka Schulman

August 7, 2008

Rabbi David Gutterman: A Continuing Story With a Sustaining Goal

Rabbi Berel Wein: Mourning and morning

JWisdom: Yes, we are still in exile by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

August 6, 2008

David Ashenfelter: Government made military engineer's life a living hell because of his faith, Defense Department report documents

Jonathan Tobin: Speak the Truth; Defeat the Lies

JWisdom: Jewish Spirituality: Fusion or Confusion? by Rabbi David Aaron

August 5, 2008

Chris Leppek: Church/state wall beginning to crumble?

Paul Greenberg: Exit Olmert (no encore, please)

JWisdom: Serenity: Make the commitment by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin (Read by Gavriel Sanders)

August 4, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Am I taking advantage of another's psychological quirk?

Andrew Silow-Carroll: A black and a Jew walk into the White House…

JWisdom: The Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith: Edward R. Morrow visits the ‘living dead’ by Rabbi Nosson Scherman

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review June 8, 2006 / 12 Sivan, 5766

DeLay paved way for GOP backlash

By Jonathan Gurwitz


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Tom DeLay, whose resignation from Congress takes effect Friday, knows as much about the intractable imperium of incumbent politicians — and how to undermine it — as anyone. For 16 years, he was a Republican outlier, first as a member of the Texas House of Representatives, then as a member of the U.S. House, both dominated by Democrats.


The irony today is that as DeLay's political career comes to an ignoble end, the scandal surrounding his office threatens to bring down the Republican majority in Congress he worked so hard to build.


When DeLay arrived in Austin in 1979, he helped organize a series of conclaves for the small number of GOP legislators to strategize about building a dominant party. The frustration of toiling in the political minority followed DeLay to Washington after his election to Congress in 1984, representing Texas District 22. Time and circumstance were, however, on his side.


When DeLay arrived at the Capitol, the national Democratic Party was more than a decade into a transformation that had abandoned mainstream policies and traditional voting blocs. And in the years that followed, a series of scandals plagued the Democratic leadership.


An ethics scandal forced House Speaker Jim Wright to resign, while allegations of sweetheart investment deals took down Majority Whip Tony Coelho. There was a savings and loan scandal, a House bank scandal and a House post office scandal. Then in 1994, the Justice Department indicted House Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski in a check-kiting scandal.


Given this record of scandal and detachment, the results of the 1994 elections shouldn't have been as surprising as they were. The Republican Party, pledging to transform the way Washington did business, gained eight seats to take over the Senate and 54 seats to seize a House majority for the first time in 40 years.


Extraordinary circumstances are required to overcome the extraordinary power of incumbency. In 2004, incumbent members of the U.S. House of Representatives who sought re-election returned to office at a rate of 99 percent. The kind of realignment that took place in 1994 is an extreme rarity in American politics.


In 2006, however, the ingredients exist — as they did in 1994 — to produce another realignment. There's an unpopular war, with an unpopular president from whom members of his own party are trying to distance themselves. There's a profligate Congress that, despite the exigencies of conflict, can't rein in its wasteful habits.


But more than anything, there's a stench of corruption hanging over Capitol Hill. And while that stench has an increasingly bipartisan odor, the strongest scent still emanates from the office of former Majority Leader DeLay.

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Michael Scanlon, DeLay's former press secretary, became a business partner of disgraced lobbyist and admitted felon Jack Abramoff. Scanlon pleaded guilty in November to one count of conspiracy to corrupt political officials.


Tony Rudy, DeLay's former deputy chief of staff who also joined Abramoff, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy and corruption charges. Rudy's wife founded another consulting firm that did work for Abramoff.


In his plea, Rudy implicated Ed Buckham, DeLay's former chief of staff, as another Abramoff conspirator. Christine DeLay, the congressman's wife, was on the payroll of Buckham's firm, which is now the target of a Justice Department investigation.


So much for changing the way Washington does business.


Given the powerful advantages of incumbency, the precision with which political districts are now drawn to partisan advantage and the potential for Democrats to self-destruct over their own internal squabbles and ethics problems, the odds are still against a significant realignment in Congress in November.


But those odds are becoming increasingly short. And if Republicans do lose their majorities, they can blame Tom DeLay and a detached GOP leadership that completely lost sight of the circumstances and principles that brought them to power in 1994.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Jonathan Gurwitz, a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, is a co-founder and twice served as Director General of the Future Leaders of the Alliance program at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. In 1986 he was placed on the Foreign Service Register of the U.S. State Department.Comment by clicking here.

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© 2005, Jonathan Gurwitz

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