Former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX), one of DoubleSpeak’s favorite punching bags, gave his goodbye speech on the floor of the House yesterday and left us with these wise words. VIDEO.

In preparing for today, I found that it is customary in speeches such as these to reminisce about the good old days of political harmony and across-the-aisle camaraderie, and to lament the bitter, divisive partisan rancor that supposedly now weakens our democracy.

Well, I can’t do that because partisanship, Mr. Speaker, properly understood, is not a symptom of democracy’s weakness, but of its health and its strength, especially from the perspective of a political conservative.

Liberalism, after all, whatever you may think of its merits, is a political philosophy and a proud one with a great tradition in this country, with a voracious appetite for growth. In any place or any time on any issue, what does liberalism ever seek, Mr. Speaker? More. More government, more taxation, more control over people’s lives and decisions and wallets.

If conservatives don’t stand up to liberalism, no one will.

Elegant and sophisticated. Enjoy your life Mr. DeLay. We’re already enjoying ours a little more.

…This kind of lovin’ in jail, Tom.

Think Progress has the video.

Bush is a liar. The proof is in the video.

ABC News is now reporting that Speaker of the House, and DeLay pool boy, Dennis Hastert (R-IL) is now “in the mix” in the ever widening Jack Abramoff scandal. Hastert is of course denying the claims, and even the Justice Department has denied the story, but Brian Ross and ABC continue to insist that multiple sources have told them that Hastert is under the microscope too. ThinkProgress has the transcript.

ROSS: Good morning Robin. Despite flat and repeated denies from the Department of Justice, federal law enforcement officials insist to ABC news the FBI investigation of capitol hill corruption has widened to include potentially Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. Officials describe the 64-year-old Illinois republican as “very much in the mix” of the corruption investigation. Something the speaker told ABC News he was unaware of.

HASTERT: I know nothing about it.

ROSS: Part of the investigation is said to involve a letter Hastert wrote three years ago urging the Secretary of Interior to block a casino on an Indian reservation that would have competed with other tribes. The other tribes were represented by convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who reportedly has provided details of his dealings with Hastert as part of his plea agreement with the government. The letter was written shortly after a fund-raiser for Hastert at a restaurant owned by Abramoff. Abramoff and his clients contributed more than $26,000 at the time.

Knowing this now it seems particularly suspicious that Hastert was so quick to denounce the raid on Rep. William Jefferson’s office earlier in the week.

All of a sudden George Bush cares about the Constitution and the rule of law. Weird.

Says WashPo, Bush Orders Jefferson Records Sealed for 45 Days:

President Bush personally ordered the Justice Department today to seal records seized from the Capitol Hill office of a Democratic congressman, marking a remarkable intervention by the nation’s chief executive into an ongoing criminal probe of alleged corruption.

The order culminates an escalating constitutional confrontation between the Justice Department and the House of Representatives, where lawmakers have demanded that the FBI return items seized during a Saturday night raid of the office of Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.).

In a six-paragraph statement, Bush said he issued the order to give the Justice Department and angry lawmakers more time to work out an agreement about how to resolve the conflict.

Here’s my favorite part:

“Those who violate the law–including a member of Congress–should and will be held to account,” Bush said.

Something very strange is going on on Capitol Hill.

RJ Matson Cartoon

William Jefferson Wrap-Up:

Think Progress: Pelosi Calls on Jefferson to Resign From Ways & Means Committee

Raw Story: Pelosi asks congressman snared in bribery probe to resign post

CNN: Angry lawmakers demand FBI return seized documents

Senator Trent Lott thinks he’s great. So great, in fact, that he’s preparing for another shot at Senate Leadership once Bill Frist goes off to run for President. Bill Frist, by the way, will quickly realize that no one supports him because he’s a wacko and will go back to diagnosing patients via VHS tape.

Read more about Lott’s plans here:

Senator Trent Lott keeps a dog-eared piece of paper in his pocket showing which senators supported his proposal to spend $700 million to move a railroad line in his home state of Mississippi, and which opposed him.

Lott keeps the paper so he can “pull it out and remind people who voted with me and who didn’t,” he said.

A former Senate majority leader, Lott, 64, has never stopped keeping score as he eyes a possible return to the Republican leadership after the November elections.

Ever feel like it’s simply impossible to keep up? That there’s simply too much out there? At DoubleSpeak HQ, we certainly feel that way. Fortunately, diarist Dave V at Daily Kos has a nice little list going of everything you need to know to exist in this new era of truthiness. Via AmBlog:

Stephen Colbert was not funny.
Helen Thomas is old and batty.
Mexicans are taking our jobs.
Iraq sent its WMDs to Syria.
Democrats don’t want to wiretap terrorists.
Joe Wilson admitted that Valerie Plame wasn’t covert.
Karl Rove has a faulty memory.
Scooter Libby has a faulty memory.
John F. Kerry is a flip-flopper.
George W. Bush is a decider.
John McCain is a straight-shooter.
Dick Cheney is a sober shooter.

It’s an exhaustive list so you better start reading now.

Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) is also going down. Rep. Ney is one of the key players in the Jack Abramoff/Tom DeLay corruption scandal. He should resign from Congress today.