Sunday, January 08, 2006
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall"
Tom DeLay from Sugar Land,TX, aka the Exterminator, aka the Hammer
*
Washington Post
*****
Despite his blustering, the snowballing effects of the past weeks--the decision by Jack Abramoff to plead guilty to three felony charges in particular--overwhelmed the former speaker of the House. Tom DeLay resigned his seat. Jonathan Weisman in the Washington Post: "DeLay ends bid to regain post as GOP leader".
- "Rep. Tom DeLay (Tex.), one of the most powerful and feared Republican leaders in Washington, abandoned his quest to regain his House majority leader post yesterday, bowing to pressure from fellow Republicans worried about the growing corruption and campaign finance scandals linked to his office.
- DeLay's announcement in his home town of Sugar Land ends his decade-long tenure as a legislative juggernaut and conservative ideologue who revolutionized the relationship between power and money in Washington. It also cleared the way for a leadership contest that could further shake up the House GOP team going into an uncertain election year. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (Ill.) said Republicans will choose a new majority leader and other officers the week of Jan. 30, when members return for President Bush's State of the Union address."
Washington Post
"It worked simply. On one side of the machine, a hose vacuumed the pockets of large corporations, wealthy individuals and legions of lobbyists on K Street, all instructed by DeLay to contribute only to Republicans. Out the other side, at some later date, came legislation of interest to many of the donors. Inside the machine, twisting its knobs and pulling its levers, was DeLay -- who was unabashed about his pay-to-play philosophy and relentless in enforcing his political rules."
Bad news for President Bush but DeLay's successor can be expected to do whatever is needed to please the White House. Tom DeLay will be busy consulting his lawyers and with court dates for some time. We haven't seen the last of him. If the GOP remains in power DeLay will surface as a lobbyist or in a conservative think tank, doing what he has always done--manipulating people and shepherding bills that benefit his backers.
