Posted by Steve on November 18, 2004
In Reply to: Re: The Velvet Hammer posted by DHd on November 18, 2004
Missouri's Roy Blunt was chosen to succeed Tom Delay as the Majority Whip. Delay, nicknamed the "Hammer" for his ability to keep Republicans from straying on key votes, encouraged Blunt to use the same tactic but with a softer touch.
TOM DELAY: And so I am going to present this velvet hammer to the new Majority Whip, and, Mr. Whip, I would just like to tell you that you ought to use both hands until you get used to it.
I am still interested in where this word `hammer` originally comes from....
: Gary--forgive me again--I love you guys and PF, and I'm first to acknowledge that all the confusion is Bill Gates' doing
: Forgive me also for deleting the main thread, but I had to do it this way. I would like to use the below two followups in a lexicon I am compiling (with your permission of course) but I am so confused by the followup-multi-colon-indention open-dot-closed-dot system that for the life of me I can't fathom who to credit--DH
: : : The Velvet Hammer is a drink...made with vodka, Kahlua, and whipped with vanilla ice cream. My wife tells me that they go down like velvet, and the hammer arrives later.
: : "velvet" is used in several phrases to express a note of irony--velvet cage; velvet coffin. It suggests that while force, coersion, or entrapment occurs the conditions are pleasant. While Jim Baker is know as the Velvet Hammer, Tom Delay(Texas Republican) is known as The Hammer--he is not pleasant to work with.