In 1994, after years in the minority, Republicans took back control of Congress thanks largely to the efforts of Newt Gingrich and his famous "Contract with America." Although there is still much debate over whether the Contract was a seminal political document or merely a clever political gimmick, its effectiveness cannot be questioned: ten years later, Republicans have tightened their grip on the Presidency, the House, and the Senate.
The great irony, of course, is that the impetus for the Contract was the conservative belief that Democrats, corrupt after years in power, had become risibly out of touch with the American people. Now, having themselves enjoyed power for so long, the Republicans are increasingly and unmistakably embodying those same negative characteristics, none more so than House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
DeLay is currently being investigated by Texas prosecutors and the House Ethics Committee for, among other things, allegedly funneling $500,000 to his wife and daughters, taking trips to the Bahamas courtesy of Russian special interest groups, and accepting illegal donations during his crusade to redistrict Texas.
Although in the Contract they pledged to be the "party of responsibility," Republicans have until recently refused to criticize DeLay. In fact, they have unabashedly supported him. Bush has made a point of referring to DeLay as a "good friend" during his press conferences, and House Republicans have ignored fierce criticism and reworked their rules to allow DeLay to remain as majority leader even if he is indicted.
DeLay's reaction to this growing firestorm? Blaming liberals in D.C. and the media, calling himself the victim of "a determined and underhanded effort to undermine myself and the American people" and refusing to discuss the matter. As evidenced by his stupefying press conference Wednesday, he has instead chosen to focus his energies on punishing the "activist" judges who opted to follow the Constitution rather than his personal wishes in refusing to review the Schiavo case.
What's remarkable about DeLay's crusade against members of the judicial branch, including several conservative district court judges, is not just its complete disregard for the law. Rather, DeLay's incoherent ramblings about "activist judges" reveal the same aloofness that helped bring down the Democrats in the mid-90s. According to polls, over 80 percent of Americans believe that Congress should not investigate the judges who ruled on Schiavo, whereas over 70 percent believe DeLay should be held accountable for his actions. DeLay seems not to notice.
Although there are more obvious explanations for DeLay's unapologetic arrogance (namely, that he doesn't care whether or not he's acted immorally), it seems emblematic of an increasingly apparent feature of the political ideology shared by a number of powerful conservatives. Like the evangelicals and talk-show demagogues who helped them to power, DeLay, Bush, and other Republicans display utter conviction in their own infallibility. Bush refuses to admit any mistakes during his presidency (aside from a few court nominations) despite the administration's wholesale bungling of Iraq's reconstruction. And his nomination for ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, has attempted to punish rather than reward intelligence analysts who tried to stop him from making false assertions in important speeches.
Similarly, the Right's disdain for the press can be attributed less to the media's liberal bias than to conservatives' unwillingness to question themselves. Those who do question the right on even valid ethical or constitutional grounds? They're more likely to be labeled as unpatriotic or as members of a left-wing conspiracy than to be engaged in serious dialogue.
Belief in the absolute righteousness of your cause is well and good when you're a preacher, but not when you're expected to lead and be responsible to the American people. As Rumseld has famously said, today's world is one of unknowns and even "unknown unknowns." If the G.O.P. is to live up to the commendable goals of its Contract with America, its leaders must realize that they are just as fallible as the citizens to whom they promised accountability, not unremitting arrogance.