Tom DeLay is whining about how a recent episode of Law & Order used his name in an episode. In the episode, two judges had been killed by right-wing extremists, and the detectives had no lead; one officer joked, “Maybe we should put out an APB for somebody in a Tom DeLay T-shirt.”

This, of course, is in reference to a comment Tom DeLay made during the Terri Schiavo case. On March 21 of this year, he said, “This loss happened because our legal system did not protect the people who need protection most, and that will change. The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, but not today.” This was in a written statement which he read–and because it was written, it is clear that he had reviewed it and considered it carefully before speaking. Further, the statement was made at a time when several others associated with DeLay were making similar veiled threats, including another Texas Republican, Senator Cornyn, who suggested that judges were being murdered because their killers were objecting to the judges’ politics.

The Law & Order line was completely valid; DeLay had spoken words that conveyed the idea that these judges deserved to be punished because their decisions did not fall in line with right-wing politics. The killers on the show, presumably, had killed judges for the exact same reason. What’s so unreasonable about suggesting that people like that wouldn’t approve of what DeLay said? If anything, it makes perfect sense. If Tom DeLay doesn’t want to be identified with such things, he should not say such things; and if he did not want to open the door for the interpretation of violence, he should have made his statement more specific.

But in the end, it comes down to the fact that he’s a public figure, he said something offensive in public, and now he’s identified with it. Not to mention the whole thing about free speech, especially the freedom to be critical of our leaders. If he doesn’t like it, that’s just tough.

Suck it up, Tom. You were an asshole. And it’s a teevee show. Deal with it, and stop being a little crybaby.