Apropos of DeLay’s departure and the K Street Project (“Please, Hammer, don’t hurt me!”), I’m reminded of a dinner for another think tank I attended a couple of years ago. DeLay was the featured speaker, and when he approached the podium, he got a roaring standing O. Except from my table, which was made up of Cato folks. DeLay gestured toward us and growled into the mike, “Those must be the libertarians!”

Not too long thereafter, the Hammer declared an “ongoing victory” in the war on spending, noting that “After 11 years of Republican majority, we’ve pared it down pretty good.” Sigh. Good riddance.