Tom DeLay!

CW FISHER Now that the Republican leadership has cut its ties with former majority leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), it seems fitting that we take a moment to celebrate the fifth estate: our diverse American lobbies. Were it not for these brazen men and women and their bags full of money we wouldn't even have a Congress, for no self-respecting kingdom-builder has ever been happy with a mere salary, no matter how high. It takes gifts. We elect the Congress to pass laws to protect us from ourselves. But if the People, in their ignorance, were to step outside the lines of a marketing strategy instituted by a corporation that paid millions of dollars to keep the People exactly where they are, then who but Congress could rein them in? Who but Congress could intercede to save the catastrophic loss of profits? For if not for profits, there would be no jobs. Or congressmen. Fortunately, America is a nation of checks and balances. When things get out of balance, it writes a check. Calvin Coolidge said, "The business of America is business," and he made a killing with it. But when things really get out of whack, like now, the People receive the rare opportinuty to share in the spectacle of the Speaker of the House giving back his gifts, of the President of the United States giving back his gifts. It's what some in the Corporate and Christian communities call "giving back." Democracy works. It's expensive, but it can be made to work. The only thing that can shut it down is the sixth estate: the Independent Prosecutor. But independence, as we have seen, never seems to last for long. Take heart! Things will be back to normal in no time!