Lauer was clearly unsettled by that answer and retorted, "But you didn't hear me." He repeated the question. Still DeLay would have none of it and continued pounding on Lauer's GOP-trashing premise: "If you had listed all the Democrats that are having problems right now, it would have been different. You see the Democrats re-elect the people with their problems. Republicans kick them out. If you look at what's going on, it's how you handle it as a party."
DeLay then turned to the unassailable specifics: "You have right now, Alan Mollohan, a congressman from West Virginia, who is being investigated by the FBI, and the Democrats have kept him on as chairman of the committee that has oversight of the budget of the FBI. You have William Jefferson -- "
Lauer was losing control of the interview and interrupted, trying to end DeLay's listing of Democratic scandals: "So, you're saying it's a positive thing. Is it a positive thing that the Republicans do this, they weed out immediately?" DeLay stood his ground "You don't want me to finish it?" he challenged. Lauer deferred: "No, no, go ahead."
DeLay continued: "Well, you have William Jefferson caught with $90,000 of marked bills in a freezer. And they did put him off the Ways and Means Committee, but they put him on a highly sensitive Homeland Security Committee." He added the old 1980s examples of Reps. Barney Frank and Gerry Studds, and could have added another dozen had the word "Clinton" been introduced into the conversation.
At one point Lauer claimed, "There was an awful lot of coverage of William Jefferson when that story broke, Congressman." I'm sure DeLay wishes he'd had this piece of data available in the memory banks: NBC's "Today" has never once aired an NBC reporter explaining the Jefferson scandal. All that's dribbled out are a few 50-word anchor-read droplets.
But no matter. DeLay didn't budge from the double-standard argument, and within hours was the toast of the conservative movement, as news of his performance spread like wildfire through the Internet and talk radio.
A few more confrontations like this, and the double-standard will end.