Demagogue

Surprises come in twos this weekend.

First, imagine the son of a top official of the British Labour Party interning with the Republicans on the House Rules Committee and reporting to U.S. Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.), a man who has been described thusly:

[Dreier] sat at Gingrich's right hand during the revolution, but almost no one considers him a revolutionary. For years, Dreier has been one of the embattled speaker's chief champions. When the television talk shows needed somebody to defend Gingrich against ethics charges, they called Dreier first.

Los Angeles Times, Nov. 30, 1998

The "revolution" to which the Times refers, of course, included Gingrich's push to cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans, his failed attempt to weaken the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and his fervent opposition to virtually any fundamental reform of the health care system (such as the "singler payer" system that Britain operates under and whose future stability was a focus of Labour's spring election campaign).

Second, imagine that this soon-to-be intern is none other than Euan Blair, the son of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Now stop imagining. It's true.