Et tu, Santorum?

Arianna Huffington suggested on Real Time with Bill Maher this weekend that unless there's a celebrity death every three days for the foreseeable future, Tom DeLay will soon be out of power. You can't predict when the bottom will fall out of this thing - or even if it will - but it's not looking good for Mr. Delay. First, DeLay's supporters have been forced, according to the Washington Post, "to form what is essentially a campaign organization aimed at minimizing damage to DeLay and building support despite what they believe will be a continuing torrent of news stories about his travel, fundraising and dealings with lobbyists."

Now, some prominent Republicans are distancing themselves from him. This includes not only the RINO (Republican in Name Only) Rep. Chris Shays (CT), who called DeLay "an absolute embarrassment to me and to the Republican Party," but also PA Senator Rick Santorum. Whether Santorum would be calling on DeLay to come clean in the absence of his own reelection bid next year is irrelevant. Santorum's comments are a sign that the pressure is mounting. It will be hard to keep the troops in line if they start hearing from the voters back home (as is apparently beginning to be the case).