By now, you’ve probably heard about the growing controversy regarding House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. For a while now, Democrats (along with a few Republicans) have charged him with abusing his powers, unethical behavior, questionable ties to lobbyists, implicitly threatening those with whom he disagrees like federal judges, and in general, being an arrogant, grandstanding, bullying asshole.

Some Democrats fear his power but others like American Prospect writer Terrence Samuel point out that DeLay can actually serve as benefit for Democrats by giving them a focal point to direct their energy and anger:

If DeLay is right about one thing, it’s that he is on the Democrats’ agenda. After having tormented them for years, he has in recent weeks turned into the gift that keeps on giving. Democrats on the Hill have lately settled on a strategy of accusing the Republicans of extremism, overreaching, and abuse of power and the public trust; Tom DeLay is their poster child, especially in the wake of the Terri Schiavo affair.

A recent Gallup/USA Today/CNN poll showed that a majority of Americans believe that on moral values issues, the GOP is using its power in the federal government to “interfere with the private lives of most Americans.” With DeLay, Democrats now feel that they have a face to slap. “This is not just Tom DeLay’s behavior,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, “but the standards of the Republican caucus and how low those standards are.”

It’s nice to finally see a Republican political leader having to explain his actions and that Republicans are getting a taste of their medicine -- a figure who can do to Republicans what Democrats have had a hard time doing --dividing them into ideological extremes.