Tom DeLay on the Republican Party's leadership prospects. Unsurprisingly, when you run an operation where the only trait that gets rewarded is enthusiastic support for the party line, and anyone who deviates from it even mildly gets canned, you shouldn't be surprised when there aren't any leaders ready to take over.
In any event, doesn't being a Republican politician seem like one of the most boring jobs in the world? Every day, every week, every year, they say the same half-dozen things about the same handful of issues. Attempts to try to do something different, to take the initiative or reach across the aisle are more often than not severely punished (see Grassley, Chuck), and if you change your mind on anything, get ready for a primary challenge. It sounds like the sort of high-stress, boring office job with no security that most people want to get the hell out of. It makes sense that the GOP has no leaders: looking at the state of the GOP, a generation of smart conservatives has no doubt just said the hell with it and decided to take a job that leaves them more fulfilled.
