Cue the end of ‘Layla.’
A few days ago, as Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) was being chased out of his leadership post by nervous Republicans, Josh Marshall threw a cue to ROTM:
As a side note, let’s observe that it sure ain’t pretty when the members of a gang decide to take out one of their own, is it? Cue your favorite analogous scene from Mob cinema or The Sopranos.
Great point, Josh. We’ll take it from here!
Do you remember Jimmy Conway, the “half mick half guinea” goodfella played so convincingly by Robert DeNiro in Scorsese’s 1990 classic about the rise and fall of mob culture? Sure you do:
Jimmy: I’m not mad, I’m proud of you. You took your first pinch like a man and you learn two great things in your life. Look at me, never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut.
That line always bugged me, because it seems like one lesson, not two. This one’s a little less–er, headdy:
Jimmy: Tommy, you gonna let him get away with that? You gonna let this f***ing punk get away with that? What’s the matter? What’s the world coming to?
Ahhh yes. A classic. Just before Tommy puts six holes in Spider’s chest.
In any case, now that we know who we’re talking about, it’s worth pointing out that the GOP going after Rep. Bobby “The Dupe” Ney reminds us a bit of that classic scene in Goodfellas when Jimmy Conway takes out everyone involved with him in the Lufthansa heist. You remember that scene?
The piano outro to Layla, Eric Clapton’s epic 1970 rocker, is the musical backdrop for this great moment in film history. Henry explains in the voiceover:
Jimmy was cutting every link between himself and the robbery. But it had nothing to do with me. I gave Jimmy the tip and he gave me some Christmas money…
Right. Jimmy thought he’d have better luck dodging the feds if he simply got rid of everyone who had helped him committ the crime. Angelo winds up in the freezer truck, Maury dies in his brand new Caddy (”it’s in my wife’s name!”) when they jam an awl into the back of his head, etc.
Denny Hastert seems to be pulling the same move. If he whacks Ney (and by “whack,” of course, we mean “strip him of his post as chairman of the House Administration Committee”) he thinks it’ll help isolate the GOP from the stench of bad deeds. We don’t think it’ll work, but we sincerely appreciate his gangland-style efforts.