And in a symbolic obliteration of Armey's influence, DeLay took over a Web site Armey had used to promote his prized flat-tax proposal when he was in Congress. The URL -- www.freedom.gov -- remains the same. But now the site contains propaganda about the "Victory in Iraq."

Armey opposed the invasion. In August 2002, he met separately with Bush and Vice President Cheney in an attempt to talk them out of it. "I said, 'This has the potential to be an albatross at election time.' I was so desperate that I quoted Shakespeare instead of Jimmy Buffett," he said. "I don't know the exact quote. Something like, 'Our fears betray us,' or 'Our fears make cowards of us all.'"

While he believed that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and links to terrorist organizations, Armey did not agree with the administration's assessment of a dire and imminent threat. He said he told Bush and Cheney that it was "against the character of our nation" to strike a country that had not attacked first. Liberating the Iraqi people was the more resonant argument, Armey said, because it was in keeping with American principles. But that, of course, was not the stated reason for the war; had it been, it's unlikely Americans would have supported the invasion.

Similarly, Armey said Congress probably would not have approved the Medicare bill had all relevant information been known before the vote last fall. Medicare's chief actuary, Richard Foster, revealed after the vote that the Bush administration had threatened to fire him if he informed Congress of his true, higher cost estimate: not $400 billion but as much as $600 billion over 10 years.

If, by speaking out, Armey hopes to embolden his former colleagues to stand up to DeLay's bullying, it's not clear he will succeed. In interviews last week, several of the conservatives who voted against the Medicare bill were reluctant to say anything that might draw DeLay's wrath. And Armey's critiques do not sit well with others among his former Republican colleagues, some of whom view him as a hypocrite. "What did Armey do when he was in office to restrain the growth of government?" asked Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill. "He led the floor debate to create the Department of Homeland Security. I would say he contributed to the growth of government."

Unlike DeLay, Armey, who now demands simon-pure conservatism, voted for final passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, the Bush-backed education reform much reviled by many on the right as meddling by the federal government in state and local matters.

To his critics, Armey says that's precisely why he left his job as majority leader. He was having to make even more serious compromises on policy under a Republican president than he did under Clinton, and he no longer wanted to have to take party positions contrary to his philosophy.

"There's a marvelous song by John Denver," he said, paraphrasing the lyrics. "It goes: 'Some days are diamonds, some days are stones. There's a face I see in the mirror, more and more is a stranger to me, more and more is the danger of becoming what I thought I'd never be.'"

"When you wake up and see that stranger in the mirror," he said, "that's when you know it's time to go."

Recent Stories