Shaun Kenney points us to a Time article that is racing around the net and reveals that Tom DeLay is stepping down. DeLay did some good things, but it certainly seemed like his time had passed. Good for him to step down now instead of hang on too long. He’s also giving up Texas residency to live in Virginia. (Welcome!)

So what will he do in the meantime? If you believe Time, its not becoming a lobbyist (the folly of too many Hill politicians.) Instead he will “pursue an aggressive speaking and organizing campaign aimed at promoting foster care, Republican candidates and a closer connection between religion and government.”

Although the Texas GOP will be allowed to select the replacement candidate, I would point out that there is already one conservative candidate with experience winning congressional elections in the race.

UPDATE: I tracked down the interview that Time did. Here’s the link. One of the interesting things was finding a local angle in DeLay’s Christianity…

TIME: When did you accept Jesus as your Lord and savior, and how does that affect your daily life?

DeLay: I was baptized when I was 12 and immediately walked away from him. (Laughs) And did not walk with him until I got in Congress. When I was elected to Congress, I was a self-centered jerk. Representative Frank Wolf, a Republican of Virginia, had a ministry. He would go to door to door to each freshman. He’d come in and talk to you and invite you to a Bible study and show you a James Dobson video called, “Where’s Daddy?” And every bad thing that he was talking about was me. And it really got my attention and it had a profound impact on me, made me really look at who I was and what I was doing. I started going to that Bible study. That’s when I came back to Christ, and have been with him ever since. That was 22 years ago. And I’ve been maturing ever since.

Frank Wolf is a Northern Virginia rep, and one of those few genuinely good people you meet in the higher levels of politics. I wish I could claim him as my rep, but I’m proud to claim him as a Virginian.

Cross posted at our theological blog, Areopagus Blog

From National Review’s The Corner:

WOMEN WHO MAKE THE WORLD NAUSEATED [JPod]
You want to see a perfect example of the contradictions of the post-feminist era? Take a look at the Bridal Blog hosted by the New York Observer. Here we have self-assured, I-have-a-career, I-would-never-take-my-husband’s-name New York women going on and on and on about how big their engagement ring is, how much stuff they got at their bridal showers, and in general carrying on with a kind of open, unabashed, and amazing crass materialism that would have been anathema to their own, presumably less enlightened mothers and grandmothers. It’s pretty interesting.

I could not help but post on this topic, because I think it has to be one of the biggest cultural problems in our society. We no longer view marriage, children, or for that matter life in the traditional prism of religion and progeny that we used to. For too many a spouse, children, and families are accesories to obtain and then flaunt to those around you.

This has a lot to do with the rise of careerism and late marriage, but on the whole it seems to have its root causes in the me-too generation that has exploded. I am interested what young conservatives think of the issue?

From a charming DailyKos commenter:

I wouldn’t laugh (0 / 0)
Anytime the nutcase Republicans bring up religion, they WIN.

When will we realize that we Dems are the losers on this issue.

Christians in America are overwhelmingly retarded. They’ll buy shit shit of Santorums.

We need to educate Christians. They are the morons that have ruined America. Laughing at the Repubs who use them won’t work.

Whackos get their info thru the Christian right. We’ll bring them out to vote against something and make sure the public lets the whole thing slip past them.

by chemsmith on Mon Apr 03, 2006 at 05:48:41 AM PDT

The context of this argument is remarks Sen. Santorum made about Europe dying due to the loss of Christianity. How that is self-apparent to most people I do not understand. Santorum’s speech as I mentioned earlier was great, and the fact the Dems are in such a tizzy is a good sign. The main point here is that the commenter is right, when GOP talks religion it wins. The “stupid” Christians who actually believe in an objective right and wrong, which apparently is passe. How sad.