“NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER”
A Book by Tom DeLay

Tom DeLay is, he is quick to point out, a flawed human being. In other words, that means he is very much as thee and me. Certainly me.

Perhaps the most engaging part of DeLay's new book is a reasonably in-depth examination of his conservative beliefs and how he came to hold them. He further examines how he came to eschew his former hard-partying, heavy drinking days in favor of devoting himself to his family and his country. (I must admit a certain grudging admiration for someone who can quaff between 10 and 12 martinis in an evening and still raise their heads off the pillow the following day, because I know I cannot and never could, nor should anyone else!)

The book presents a bird’s eye view of the workings of the U.S. House of Representatives and the qualities needed to thrive and succeed as a legislator within that body. In addition, Mr. DeLay touches upon the various people he encountered during his legislative career, both in Texas and in D.C.

One of the good reminders from the pages of this book is how susceptible Newt Gingrich is to flattery and how, under the pressure of that flattery, he became more of a sycophant to the Clinton White House than he should have been. Dick Armey’s blind ambition is detailed, as is Denny Hastert’s basic goodness. Tom DeLay is very critical of his own flaws, and equally pointed in describing the major flaw in the modern Democratic Party:

“. . . Liberals in Congress who, knowing that they could not win the battle of ideas, chose to lead a coalition devoted to the politics of personal destruction and to the criminalization of political disagreement.” Page 131

As a result of the Democratic Party’s malevolent attention to him, Mr. DeLay was “forced to . . . turn from the battle for conservative values to the battle against liberal lies.” Thus is our nation deprived, and not just in Mr. DeLay’s case, of talented people who could make life in our nation better. Thus flourishes the culture that encourages the demonizing of people whose political views are moderate or right of center.

I highly recommend that you read this book. Knowledge is power and we’re going to need all that we can gather together in the months prior to the November 2008 election which may, arguably, be the most crucial in the history of our Republic.