The Moose opines that the elephant's perversion may be his undoing.
The greatest symbol of Republican corruption is not Jack Abramoff but rather the Medicare prescription drug bill. That legislation was the product of political expediency and the desire to satisfy big corporate donors. It represented a perversion of all conservative principles.
In order to gain passage of the legislation, old Tom DeLay perverted the rules of the House and kept the vote open for hours to engage in perverse arm twisting. The Administration lied about the cost and imposed a gag order on truth tellers. And the program has been incompetently administered and has large gaps in coverage.
Alas, the Republicans may pay a steep price for this fiasco. Yesterday's New York Times,
"Older voters, a critical component of Republican Congressional victories for more than a decade, could end up being a major vulnerability for the party in this year's midterm elections, according to strategists in both parties. Paradoxically, one reason is the new Medicare drug benefit, which was intended to cement their loyalty."
The GOP deserves to lose power because of the drug bill. It is the living symbol of the corruption of power. It was a huge expansion of the welfare state primarily for the welfare of the patrons of Republican privilege.
With apologies to Barry Goldwater - perversion of principles in the pursuit of power is no virtue. -- | 
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