Obligatory Tom DeLay Post

DeLay is gone, or will be soon. When I heard the news this morning, my thoughts were:

1. Hmm, I wonder what he's up to?
2. I wonder if Kline will return the $31,000 DeLay gave him now?
3. Really, what's DeLay up to?
4. I bet Kline regrets the fact that he voted to change House ethics rules so that DeLay could continue as majority leader even upon indictment.
5. Seriously. It's not like DeLay to walk away from a fight. So what's he really planning?

Republicans will do what they can to put a good face on this, praising DeLay even as they show him the door, and claiming that DeLay's exit puts an end to the "so-called culture of corruption".

But the thing about culture is, it's not controlled by a single individual. And while DeLay may have been one of the principal architects of lobbyist-run government, the machine he built is still running, and still needs to be smashed in.

DeLay's $31,000 must really be burning a hole in Kline's pocket about now. If Kline returns the money, it will go to DeLay's defense team and Kline will effectively be helping DeLay in his efforts to avoid the slammer. But Kline can't very well keep the money, either, especially once DeLay is convicted. So the most likely choice is that Kline will donate it to charity, a la Duke Cunningham.

The real question is, how long will he wait?