I don't know about that. Nick Lampson is running against him this year and Lampson is a strong candidate who previously served in the district that DeLay's current district straddles, including NASA. DeLay has a tough run this year.
This is BAD news for the Democrats. A tried, convicted, imprisoned, and waiting-on-the-appeal House Leader would have been the gift that would not stop giving.
"Texas's twenty-second district — Incumbent Tom DeLay (R) has been facing mounting ethical challenges and corruption charges in recent months, and won reelection by a surprisingly small 55-41 margin in 2004, even though George W. Bush carried the suburban Houston district with 64%." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._House_elections,_2006 Is that wrong ????
I said it before and I will say it again...... If the good people of the 22nd district re-elect Tom Delay in November, they should be fenced off and segregated from the rest of the city, to prevent an epidemic of "Mad Human Disease".
"I will continue to serve my constituents and seek re-election to a 12th term representing Texas' 22nd district while I work to clear my name of the baseless charges leveled against me. I will also be reclaiming my seat on the Appropriations Committee when the second session of the 109th Congress convenes later this month." So, Duke Cunningham leaves the Appropriations Committee only to be replaced by Delay. It's curious he ends up telling the new Republican Leadership what Committee he'll serve on. Looks to me like he's as powerful as ever... just without the title... of course he never had the "Speaker" title even though he ran the House.
I have nothing to add to this fine thread except to welcome back Rimrocker. Where ya' been? (Does this mean we now have a 6-1 liberal bias?).
I'll hand it to the Republicans though that as a party they've been able to keep the upper hand by maintaining the argument that both parties are corrupt. I presume they figure they can lose a few as long as the Dems lose a few and still maintain the majority.
Thanks Folks. Short story: Thought I was banned... quit trying... new job and a move to AZ... with McGrady down again wanted to see if I could get back in.. emailed Clutch... here I am.
I hear a lot of people saying both parties are guilty in this. I have seen that Reid took some money from Indian tribes. I think Kennedy from RI has too. That isn't the same as taking money from Abramoff, and Abramoff groups, though. Is there any evidence out there that shows this scandal is anything other than a GOP only scandal? I heard Howard Dean say that no Democrats have accepted money from Abramoff or Abramoff front groups. I previously had thought that wasn't the case, but didn't remember any specific evidence. So now I would like to see evidence that this scandal goes both ways.
Not one Dem took Jack's money... http://www.newsmeat.com/washington_political_donations/Jack_Abramoff.php Money buys power and the simple fact is the Dems have no power to sell. Also, Abramoff was a key cog in the K Street Strategy which was pushed by Delay and Norquist to starve Dem politicos of money. The pressure put on corporations and interest groups to give only to Repubs was immense. Now, some Dems probably did accept some money from Indian tribes. The tribes are not agents of Abramoff. There is no evidence that Abramoff pushed money to Dems directly or indirectly. If it turns out there are Dems that were influenced by Abramoff, then off with their heads as well... not only would they be unethical, they would be working against the best interests of the country. The Abramoff Scandal is not really about lobbying, though the Repubs want us to think that... it was a huge slushfund run by Abramoff at the behest of Delay and others to influence elections and public policy by illegally delivering vast sums of money to GOP operations. This a GOP scandal through and through. Any Dem involvement (again, none shown yet) will pale in comparison.
To state it another way, the money given legally... that which is tracked as formal contributions is only a small part of the story. The real story is the money flowing under the table. The GOP will focus on the reportable funds and try to diminish the problem. The prosecutors will focus on the rest and until they are done, we can't say for sure no Dem is involved. We can say that no Dem received legal funds from Abramoff and we can speculate with some certainty that the Republicans are the focus of the investigation. Also, today, the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals (all elected Republicans) denied Delay's appeal to dismiss the indictment.
a mc josh post Remember, Tom DeLay is still out telling everyone that the only thing that brought him down was a meritless indictment from a partisan Democrat. Today, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied his request to have that supposedly meritless indictment tossed out. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is made up of nine judges. Each one elected. Each one a Republican. -- Josh Marshall
