In his departing speech yesterday, former Republican House majority leader Tom DeLay was unapologetic about even the most controversial aspects of his tenure. He made a particular point of defending his controversial relationship with the lobbying community. “The K Street Project and the K Street strategy, I’m very proud of.”

Here’s what the K Street project was all about: getting lobbyists to hire Republicans the Congressional leadership happened to like. Do so, and you’ll get favorable treatment from the GOP leadership. Hire Democrats, and you are asking for trouble.

Decoding this is simple: “We don’t care about the merits of the argument around here. We care about power. Don’t hire our guys, and we will be inclined to reject your ideas and suggestions even if they happen to serve the public interest. But if you hire our guys, we will be inclined to embrace your ideas and suggestions even if they fail to serve the public interest.”

It’s really as naked as that. These people ought to be ashamed of themselves.