Tony Blankley Ate His Wheaties Today

Every Republican - particularly the rodential breed in D.C. - has got to read his Washington Times column today. It is a harbinger of of the intra-GOP "night of the long knives" to come if House Pachyderms heave Tom DeLay overboard.

Money graphs:

[A]s to the couple of Republicans up for re-election in a difficult Northeast district and state who, in the name of their consciences, have said slightly rude things about the majority leader of their party, I can only quote that shrewd discerner of character, Oscar Wilde: "Conscience is but the name which cowardice Fleeing the battle scrawls upon its shield."...

They should remember the political maxim that while the law will take care of the guilty, when a politician is innocent of the charges being thrown at him, he can only be brought down by his own side. I have been in a lot of political fights - from the Goldwater campaign in 1964 to almost all of Ronald Reagan's fights, to slugging it out side by side with my old boss, Newt Gingrich, back in the '90s - and I've never been in one where sacrificing innocent comrades helped in the long run. Human sacrifice had been almost completely extinguished with the passing of the Aztecs - until the Republican Party came along....

If a party can be stampeded by phony charges and a run of shoddy stories in whorish newspapers into dumping their most effective congressional leader, I wouldn't give 2 cents for their near-term future. A party that would voluntarily cut off its own testicles and FedEx them to their opponent as a trophy, is not likely to manifest any regenerative powers. That's the thing about losing those organs. [emphases mine]

Not much I can add to that, apart from a few questions: After the ferocity of the left-wing hate campaign against President Bush the last couple of years, did elected Republicans really think that the Democrats was just going to meekly fade away? Are they truly surprised that an opposition with no ideas and nothing constructive to say has kept the vilification "strategy" going, only louder? And, given that that vicious negativism has been instrumental in sinking Donk electoral fortunes and propelling the GOP to ever larger majorities, why in God's holy name are any Republicans allowing themselves to be intimidated by these people now when, in truth, they've never had less influence or power?

Close-quarter, hand-to-hand fighting is, and has always been, the most unpleasant aspect of combat, whether military or political. And that's what it's going to take to crush the Democrats' resistance once and for all.

Think of it this way: it's like finally having the nasty little operation you've been putting off. It's unpleasant, but then it's over, you feel better, and you can get on with your life.

Besides, if the majority does its duty by standing behind Tom DeLay, breaking the judicial filibuster, confirming John Bolton, fighting to the end for Social Security private accounts, etc., can Dem/Extreme Media hostility really get any worse than it is already?