"Their malignant hold over the intellectual life of this country must be exorcised, and men and women who are willing to speak the truth offer our only hope of reclaiming our culture from the grip of a hedonistic, reckless and destructive descent into nihilism."

The left's malignant hold of the nation's intellectual life leads to anti-polluter atrocities, like accusations of human-caused global warming.

"It's the arrogance of man to think that man can change the climate of the world. Only nature can change the climate. A volcano, for instance."

That's the kind of truth-telling, the only kind of truth-telling, that can save our culture from reckless, hedonistic, nihilism. Not to mention, cold winters.

Tom DeLay just wanted scientists to be reasonable.

"There is no crisis of acid rain in the Northeast. In fact, instead of spending the billions of dollars that have been imposed on industry ... we could have simply spent $500,000 on lime, and put it in the lakes in the Northeast, and corrected the acid problem." Laughter. "Now, that's what I'm talking about. You need good science, reasonableness, and common sense in this debate."

DeLay was always a serious policy wonk, always thinking about the issues in a deep way.

"Screw the Senate. It's time for all-out war."

A rich and profound understanding of history informed his every move.

You know, the Democrats want to balance the budget by raising spending and raising taxes. The Soviet Union had a balanced budget.

Nothing is more important in the face of a war than cutting taxes.

He never gave an inch to bleeding hearts, or let their lies stand in the Congressional Record.

Emotional appeals about working families trying to get by on $4.25 an hour [the minimum wage in 1996] are hard to resist. Fortunately, such families do not exist.

He never was one to be deterred by criticism. When asked about critics in his own party, he famously said:

"That's their problem. If they're uncomfortable with it, then give me their names and addresses and I'll make sure I don't help them raise money."

He also stood up for what he believed, even to ordinary civil servants. Like the one that asked him to put out his cigar since he was on federal property:

"I am the federal government."

That's the kind of leadership that America needs. I don't know how we can replace Tom DeLay. Without him, we may soon discover that will are all living under the jackboot of the despotic Environmental Protection Agency.

"The EPA, the Gestapo of government, pure and simply has been one of the major clawhooks that the government has maintained on the backs of our constituents."

And Tom understood the proper role for women.

I have seen these liberal psychologists and sociologists talk about there is no need for the man in the family. The woman can't take care of it. A woman can't take care of the family. It takes a man to provide structure. To provide stability.

He knew how to insult a liberal and talk trash.

Howard Dean is a cruel and extremist demagogue. And Howard Dean is as ignorant on John Ashcroft as he is on national security. If this cruel, loudmouth extremist is the cream of the Democrat crop, next November's going to make the 1984 election look like a squeaker.

Tom DeLay really understood that American sovereignty was about protecting our borders, not embroiling ourselves in foreign adventures.

In short, it is the position of the people of the United States, as expressed by their representatives in Congress, that Israel's fight is our fight. And so shall it be until the last terrorist on earth is in a cell or a cemetery.

But, perhaps his crowning achievement was his realization that America cannot move forward until we really bring the hammer down on the judiciary.

The judges need to be intimidated. They need to uphold the Constitution. (If they don't behave) we're going to go after them in a big way.

Goodbye, Tom. You were are a true American patriot. A national treasure. You will be missed.