Analysts Consider DeLay’s Rebukes: Third Strike Could Weaken Lawmaker
DELAY AT CENTER OF INVESTIGATIONS INTO CORRUPTION, MONEY LAUNDERING
A lot of members on Capitol Hill believe in the concept of ‘three strikes, you’re out. And Mr. DeLay has two strikes and a third case pending.
- Fred Wertheimer, President, Democracy 21
I think the drip, drip, drip may create a problem for him now.
- Norman Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute
For years now, Tom DeLay has ruled his ever-expanding domain with the ruthless befitting his nickname: “The Hammer”. Mr. Congeniality he is not. Narrow-minded, judgemental, and thoroughly Machiavellian in his approach to politics, he has become arguably perhaps the most powerful person in the federal government outside of the President.
DeLay has embellished his empire through the use of fear, intimidation, and a fund-raising machine second to none. Say what you will about his corrupt and venal ways, but the man can separate a donor from his or her hard-earned cash without the victim knowing they’ve been fleeced. On top of that, DeLay apparently also has a knack for playing fast and loose with campaign finance laws.
Finally, thought, DeLay is displaying chinks in his armor. For Democrats in his district, there has never been any doubt of his corruption and venality. Given the powerful position that DeLay occupies, he has been virtually impregnable. Now that perception of invulnerability is beginning to to crack. It’s about damn time….
With House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) now involved directly or tangentially in a handful of ethics cases and investigations, some analysts say that another setback could substantially weaken the lawmaker’s ability to champion Republican causes and candidates.
DeLay’s bare-knuckle tactics have sparked controversy and Democratic ire for years, but Thursday’s 62-page report by the House ethics committee highlighted DeLay’s questionable arm-twisting of GOP members when crucial votes are at stake. The panel admonished him for offering a political favor in exchange for Rep. Nick Smith’s support of a major Medicare prescription drug bill late last year. The Michigan Republican was moved nearly to tears, but DeLay told investigators he made a quick exit so he would not get “stuck” talking with the loquacious and unpredictable lawmaker on the House floor.
The report’s conclusion marked the second time in five years that the ethics committee has chastised DeLay. A third setback, which conceivably could come from a pending complaint, would fuel critics’ claims that DeLay has crossed an ethical threshold, several analysts said yesterday….
DeLay, an energetic partisan admired by many colleagues and loathed by Democrats, says he has done nothing improper or unethical. House Republicans “feel this is nothing but a political witch hunt and an attempt to tear down Tom DeLay through personal attacks and destructive tactics when they just can’t beat him legislatively,” said Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.).
Some Democrats and watchdog groups, however, say such explanations are wearing thin, especially in light of two rebukes — one in 1999, one this week — from an ethics panel evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats.
Combine these concerns with the fact that, for the first time, DeLay is facing a serious challenge to his re-election. Will these questions about DeLay’s ethical challenges be enough to boost Richard Morrison to victory. That is an open question, because even a wounded and politically vulnerable DeLay is a powerful political force.
What gives Democrats in District 22 hope is that much of DeLay’s district is new to him this year. Parts of the new district are signicantly more liberal than DeLay’s old district. He has not been greeted with the uniformly fawning and adoring crowds at campaign stops that he has enjoyed in past campaigns.
I’m not going to sit here and tell you that Tom DeLay is going to lose his re-election bid. What I WILL tell you, though, is that DeLay faces a committed, passionate, and well-organized opponent in Richard Morrison. I will be loaning this forum to Morrison in whatever way I am able to do so between now and election day.
Stay tuned, y’all. This may be the first step in cleaning up Texas politics.
WE DESERVE BETTER.
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