Race to replace DeLay

With Tom DeLay's decision to relinquish his position as House Majority Leader, a replacement will be needed. According to Hugh Hewitt, there are four primary candidates for the position: John Boehner (R-OH), Mike Pence (R-IN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Tom Davis (R-VA). I'm not going to dump on Tom DeLay other than to say his replacement should be a very different type of Republican. In my view the biggest failure of Congress over the past decade of Republican control has been refusing to control the excessive spending. A few months back DeLay actually had the audacity to declare that we have a won "an ongoing victory" over spending. My local Congressman, Boehner, has a strong anti-pork barrel reputation and would lead them the right direction. However, I am not foolish enough to believe his spending addicted cohorts would follow his lead. These positional battles don't follow any rules of seniority and often come down to horse trading of votes so don't be surprised by whomever is selected. One key consideration which should not be overlooked is whether the next majority leader will be able to deal with the Abramoff fall out.

Since I wrote the above, Mike Pence has bowed out of the competition. Rep. Boehner states his case for the job. (h/t NR Online)