CONQUERING NEW FRONTIERS

TOM DELAY


When Tom DeLay resigned from Congress (in disgrace) back in June, saying at the time, "I have recently made the decision to pursue new opportunities to engage in the important cultural and political battles of our day from an arena outside of the U.S. House of Representatives."
Who would have thought that his first skirmish in the important cultural and political battles he left Congress (under indictment) to fight would be ... Dancing with the Stars?

For those of you with a life who have never seen Dancing with the Stars, it's a simple enough program to grasp. C and D list level stars are paired with professional dancers and each week, the pair must perform a certain dance (the Cha-Cha, the Tango, the Waltz, etc.) and their performance is critiqued by three judges. Viewers then call in and the lowest vote getter is dumped from the program. Past winners include Kelly Monaco (General Hospital and Playboy) and Drew Lachey (the brother of the guy who recently got divorced from Jessica Simpson - something of C-lister herself, so that makes Drew two steps removed from the C-list).
Anyway, I watched the program on-and-off during it's first season and I was intrigued by Stacy Keibler during the show's second season earlier this year if for no other reason than Stacy rated extremely high on my "Holy Crap that Woman is Hot!" scale. Her unnaturally long legs made her inclusion on the show really the only reason to watch. But I digress...

So, what does all of this nonsense have to do with Tom DeLay? First, let me put your fears to rest - no, he will not be dancing. Instead, as part of his battle to bring decency to the airwaves, he has very publicly endorsed (including sending out a letter to supporters urging them to vote) one Sara Evans. Sara Evans? Who the hell is Sara Evans, you ask? Yeah, I thought the same thing. Apparently she's a country singer and she's also married to an "ultra-right wing, theocracy-supporting, failed Republican candidate," Craig L. Schelski (Evan Derkacz at Alternet has more on this wingnut).
Here is an excerpt of DeLay's heartfelt plea via Think Progress:

Sara Evans has been a strong supporter of the Republican Party and represents good American values in the media. From singing at the 2004 Republican Convention to appearing with candidates in the last several election cycles, we have always been able to count on Sara for her support of the things we all believe in. One of her opponents on the show is ultra liberal talk show host Jerry Springer. We need to send a message to Hollywood and the media that smut has no place on television by supporting good people like Sara Evans.

Think Progress also has a link to the full letter.

Okay, a few thoughts about DeLay's comments on Springer - this show is not a forum for the participants to say anything other than quick inane banter with the hosts and judges. At no point will Springer say anything even remotely political, more than likely because the same people who would watch this dreck know Jerry from his pointless freak show television program and not from his talk show. And if you've ever actually listened to Springer's radio program, you know that Jerry is about as far from "ultra-liberal" as Alan Colmes is. Springer is about as milquetoast in his persona as left-wing talker as you can get and is often so conciliatory with his rightie callers' points-of-view as to make the show unlistenable. But then I guess in DeLay's world, a moderate like Lincoln Chafee probably qualifies as ultra-liberal so his scale is probably more sKewed than most.

I don't think that it would come as a surprise to most of my readers that Tom DeLay has something of an over-inflated sense of self. I would contend that the majority of this show's veiwers couldn't pick Tom DeLay out of freakin' lineup and could probably care less which contestant he's supporting. Honestly, if she's a good dancer with a pleasant personality and demeanor, then she'll be voted for more often than not. If she somehow ends up winning the contest, it will not indicate a momentous cultural shift in Hollywood. In the end, if she wins the thing, she'll get an extra entry in her Wikipedia profile and maybe sell a few more albums.
As a pitched battle in the ongoing culture wars, this move by DeLay is akin to bringing a squirt gun to Iraq.