A ‘Mallrats’ Majority Leader
Tom DeLay is, well, Tom DeLay — the former Republican majority leader who passionately pushed the conservative cause.
And Ben Affleck is, well, Ben Affleck — the actor who consistently speaks out in support of liberal positions.
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So you wouldn’t expect their two worlds to intersect all that often, but they did just that recently.
When DeLay signed books last week at a conference organized by Campaigns & Elections magazine, a colleague of Affleck’s swung by and asked DeLay if he’d sign a copy of “No Retreat, No Surrender” for the Hollywood actor (Affleck was in town Friday to deliver the commencement address at Falls Church High School).
At first DeLay pondered how exactly to dedicate a conservative book to a liberal die-hard. Would something like “Hope you see the light soon” work?
But, just then, DeLay realized that he’d actually just watched a movie with Affleck, but he couldn’t quite place the name. The staff around him served up the options.
“Armageddon”? No.
“Pearl Harbor”? No.
“Gigli”? No.
No, it couldn’t possibly be… “Mallrats”? “Yes!” DeLay exclaimed.
Yes, Tom DeLay did, in fact, recently sit down to watch the 1995 Kevin Smith comedy with Affleck, Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London and Jason Lee that chronicles life for various characters as they bum around a shopping mall for a day.
Suddenly, DeLay’s inscription for Affleck (and his wife, Jennifer Garner) seemed to write itself: “Ben and Jen — Loved you in Mallrats, this book is kind of like that. Keep the Faith — Tom DeLay.”
