Tom is the kind of guy that people want to go after because...

Tom is the kind of guy that people want to go after because he plays politics to the hilt, and politics is a game in which every dog has his day. Clearly, Tom is in the eye of the hurricane, and a lot of people would love to see him out of Washington. But they can't run him out just because they don't like him. They're going to have to find a good reason.