GOP voters still like DeLay: His success at rallies ahead of primary keeps rivals on standby
“You know me, you know how long and hard I have worked,” DeLay said at the forum sponsored by the local chamber of commerce and Republican groups. “When I fight, we win.”…. Even as he endures the roughest stretch of his long political career, the 11-term incumbent remains the favorite against three challengers in the Republican primary for the 22nd Congressional District.
It’s not going to take a rocket scientist to determine that no Republican in District 22 (which, to may chagrin, happens to be MY district) is going to present a serious challenge to incumbent Congressman Tom DeLay. The reality is that not only is there no viable Republican candidate with the balls to take on DeLay, the locals still love him. Apparently, being a corrupt, despotic, power-mad thug resonates with Republican voters in this district. Republicans here LOVE DeLay, both for this me-against-the world mentality and for his reputation as a dogged “defender of the little guy”. Ack…gag me. If Tom DeLay is a “defender of the little guy”, then I’m the Queen of England. Yeesh…
There are Republicans in District 22 that actually do want to see honest representation from their party, but their oppostion to DeLay is purely symbolic and more than a little bit Pyrrhic. They’ll spend money, time, and energy for no discernible purpose, they’ll get trounced in the GOP primary, and then they’ll fade back into the obscurity they so richly deserve.
The problem with District 22 is that local Republicans seem not to care that their Congressman is a corrupt, power-mad thug. You’d think that with such a large number of Evangelical Christians in this district, ethics, honesty, and simple decency would be an expectation. Au contraire, mon ami….
Jesus called…He wants His religion back….
He insists he’s taking the challenges seriously and campaigning hard, as opponents Tom Campbell and Michael Fjetland learned at the forum….
No prominent Republican would dare challenge DeLay, although many are watching to see how he fares when he goes on trial on Travis County money-laundering charges related to campaign finance.
Campbell’s campaign hopes to convince voters that casting a ballot for DeLay in a primary amounts to ceding the seat to a Democrat.
Former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson is the only Democratic candidate, and will draw funding and support from across the nation from party members wanting to unseat the GOP heavyweight.
A lower-profile Republican, Campbell reasons, has a better chance of holding the district, which has a GOP voting history.
“Our challenge is to harvest the votes,” said Michael Stanley, Campbell’s campaign chairman. “DeLay’s is to stop the bleeding.”
DeLay began showing signs of weakness at the polls in the 2004 election, when defectors voted for Republican President Bush but skipped him on the ballot.
“Disaffected Republicans wanted to send DeLay a message. But they didn’t want to see him defeated,” said Fort Bend County Republican Chair Eric Thode.
For once, a Democrat actually has a legitimate shot at upsetting DeLay. Richard Morrison ran a valiant campaign in 2004, but it was still an uphill battle and ultimately only a moral victory. Nick Lampson, though, is a former Congressman who was redistricted (DeLayed?) into a heavily-Republican district and resoundingly defeated by empty suit Ted Poe. Lamson deserved better, and he may just get it this fall against Tom DeLay. Lampson is a strong campaigner, a committed Democrat, and an experienced Congressman who knows how the game is played. If anyone is going to be able to give DeLay a run for his money, it should be Lampson.
Don’t get me wrong, Lampson will still be a long shot come November. Still, you’ve got to like his chances to make my two-part dream come true:
- Tom DeLay loses in November
- DeLay gets to wear a prison jumpsuit and become the girlfriend of someone named “Bruno”
Hey, it could happen….
