Credit Where Credit is Due
In a post a few days ago, I compared two columns from the NY Times mostly for the purpose of demonstrating what a hack David Brooks is. In fact, his next column was even worse (free NY Times link will go away, see Ed Kilgore's summary of what's wrong with this column at TPM). Perhaps he was due for addressing a real issue and vindicates himself with today's stellar column about our favorite corrupt Republican Congressmen and the K Street cronies that have blurred the line between activist and lobbyist:
Back in 1995, when Republicans took over Congress, a new cadre of daring and original thinkers arose. These bold innovators had a key insight: that you no longer had to choose between being an activist and a lobbyist. You could be both. You could harness the power of K Street to promote the goals of Goldwater, Reagan and Gingrich. And best of all, you could get rich while doing it!
Perhaps, as Kos has suggested, the normally ideological Brooks is trying to disassociate Delay, etal, from the rest of the GOP. Certainly there's some truth in this, but the tone I sense from Brooks' column is one of shame and disgust, and it feels genuine. He's not an idiot, as I said before, but he is an ideologue that can, fleetingly, know when his side has gone too far.