Fresh off his highly publicized comments calling Tom DeLay an “embarrassment to me and to the Republican Party” who should resign as Majority Leader, Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) is starting to feel some pretty intense heat from his GOP colleagues. It’s not anywhere near Zell-Miller-with-Dems territory, but it’s getting there.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) led the pack of bullies by calling Shays a “jerk” for saying that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) should resign. Now comes a flood of anger at Shays.
One senior House GOP leadership aide told HOH, “I think most people just consider the source when they see a comment like that and discredit it — ’cause it’s coming from Chris Shays.”
A senior House Republican Member went further — much further. “Chris Shays is loyal all right. His loyalty just happens to lie with George Soros and The New York Times editorial board, instead of the Republican Party.”
But the Member didn’t stop there, saying, “It makes me wonder why [Shays] even bothers coming to the Conference meetings when he could be spending that time doing what he loves most — preening before the TV cameras and doing the [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s] dirty work.”
OK, so Chris Shays’ popularity in Republican circles could be better. But the next question is what impact this is likely to have on his standing with his voters. The problem, at least as far as Dems are concerned, is that Shays might end up stronger as a result of this flap, GOP ire notwithstanding.
By that I mean, Shays ends up getting a lot of what he wants out of this situation. He represents a left-leaning Connecticut district, which Kerry won fairly easily, and where Tom DeLay is not particularly well liked. By calling DeLay out publicly, and generating all manner of media attention, Shays has positioned himself as the anti-DeLay Republican.
But for Dems, this is the opposite of the plan. Any chance the party has of winning Shays’ district in ’06 rests on connecting Shays to DeLay, noting their many links, including Shays’ votes to put DeLay in the leadership.
Moreover, while House Republicans may be calling Shays a “jerk,” and no one will want to sit next to him at the next caucus meeting, Shays will continue to enjoy financial support from party committees. As Roll Call reported today:
Regardless of Shays’ unpopularity within the Conference, he will have the full financial support of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which doesn’t want the seat falling into Democratic hands in 2006, according to informed sources.
In other words, taking public shots at DeLay is a win-win for Shays. His constituents will admire his independence, while DeLay’s party stands behind him at election time.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say Shays’ condemnation of DeLay was orchestrated for calculated political purposes.