With the exit of Tom Delay this morning the press has been abuzz with partisan chatter. The Democrats are ecstatic, issuing press release after press release, each claiming victory and the beginning of the Democratic landslide of 2006, while the Republicans line up to pay their respects.

But this is a Cadmean victory, one where the victors will suffer as much as those who they are supposed to be victorious over. While the Democrats have gotten one nice day of press we have also lost any number of perp walks, felony convictions, and with them the perhaps our best shot at taking back one of the desperately needed 15 seats that could have won back the House.

Tom Delay’s retirement, combined with the fact that he is “moving out of the district” to suburban Virginia, has now ensured that his name will not be on the ballot and the GOP in Texas will get to hand pick a candidate has a chance at holding off Nick Lampson. As DeLay himself pointed out, “This is probably the worst day of his campaign because (Lampson) knows that any Republican that replaces me on the ballot will win this seat.”

As Michael De Montaigne reminded us in his appropriately titled essay, Of Cannibals, “there are some defeats more triumphant than victories.”

Now, Tom “The Hammer” DeLay, is free to travel the country and stump for other candidates. He will now be the persecuted victim of a liberal witch hunt lead by “the leftist media”, and he will speak loudly to anyone that will listen that he is evidence that Christians are being pushed out of office. Worse yet, he can take his $1.4 million war chest (as of Feb. 14th) and spread it around the country to others of his ilk.

If DeLay had not been prematurely retired than we would have been able to paint the whole GOP using his image. Instead, we lose the chance to talk about “the party who’s leadership is run by a convicted felon” and the Republicans can claim to clean house.

Of course, all of this is made worse by the Democrats themselves. The party of Ideas is so busy waiting for the Republican Party to implode that they are yet to form a coherent platform.

Former VA Governor Mark Warner, who would like to get the nod from the Democrats for the 2008 presidential bid, recently told an audience at the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s Kennedy School that he was not a supporter of single payer health care, but he did support “the ideas behind” the flawed No Child Left Behind Act, the bill that has crippled our nations schools.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman of CT, best known for his short stint as Al Gore’s Vice Presidential pick, has refused to back away from his support of George Bush’s failed venture in nation building. Rahm Emanuel, Chair of the DCCC, said in November in response to Rep. Murtha’s proposal for a speedy withdrawl from Iraq, that the Democratic Party would have a position at “the right time.”

This seems to be a common theme; Democrats will have a position, when it is convenient to do so. Perhaps with the loss of the public face of the culture of corruption, Democrats will realize that now would be the right time.