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« Potential Lieberman Primary | Main | Richard Morrison for TX22 »

Thursday, March 10, 2005

Texas 22

Posted by Bob Brigham

Could TX22 come into play?

Last week, the Washington Post ran a story that noted:

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), struggling to protect his Washington power base as legal and ethical issues fester, also has to watch his back on the home front.

Though the change has received little notice, DeLay's strength in his suburban Houston congressional district of strip malls and housing developments has eroded considerably -- forcing him to renew his focus on protecting his seat.

DeLay garnered 55 percent of the vote in the November election against a relatively unknown Democrat, an unusually modest showing for a veteran House member who is one of the most powerful politicians in Washington. Some Republican officials and DeLay supporters worry that with President Bush absent from the top of the ticket next year, liberal interest groups might target the conservative majority leader and spend millions of dollars on campaign ads to try to defeat him.

Yesterday, the New York Times exposed:

Documents subpoenaed from an indicted fund-raiser for Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, suggest that Mr. DeLay was more actively involved than previously known in gathering corporate donations for a political committee that is the focus of a grand-jury investigation in Texas, his home state.

The documents, which were entered into evidence last week in a related civil trial in Austin, the state capital, suggest that Mr. DeLay personally forwarded at least one large corporate check to the committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, and that he was in direct contact with lobbyists for some of the nation's largest companies on the committee's behalf.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post spent yesterday alerting readers:

A delegation of Republican House members including Majority Leader Tom DeLay accepted an expense-paid trip to South Korea in 2001 from a registered foreign agent despite House rules that bar the acceptance of travel expenses from foreign agents, according to government documents and travel reports filed by the House members.[...]

It spent at least $106,921 to finance the three-day trip in 2001 from Washington to Seoul by the Republicans, which DeLay (Tex.) and accompanying staff assistants described at the time as having an "educational" purpose.

Today, he was treated at Bethesda National Naval Medical Center for heart problems.

What does the DCCC say about targeting DeLay?

But when asked if House majority leader Tom DeLay (R) of Texas is on his list of vulnerable incumbents he wants to go after, the feisty Emanuel reemerged: "If I told you, I would have to kill you!" he said, smiling broadly. "There are no districts that are absolutely off the table."

Indeed, ever since DeLay emerged as the enforcer to low-key House Speaker Dennis Hastert (another Illinoisian), the Democrats have been itching to oust DeLay from his perch — much the way the Republicans ousted the sitting Speaker, Tom Foley, from his congressional seat in the sea-change election of 1994. A look at DeLay's performance last November — winning reelection with just 55% of the vote — combined with recent rebukes over ethics and continuing investigations reveals the potential for vulnerability.

For what it is worth, the his last filing only showed $68,278 cash-on-hand. And the local paper is headlining his denial.

If God doesn't strike him down and he stays out of jail, he will still be vulnerable. I say we continue to hit him with everything we've got. At the very least, we can pin him down in Texas.

Posted at 07:05 PM in 2006 Elections, 2006 Elections - House, Texas | Technorati

Comments

It is incumbent on every Democrat to support Richard Morrison. He can unseat DeLay in 2006, and that will be a double-victory at least. Meanwhile, the local prosecutors can quietly build their case. I will gladly pay my share of the taxes to house him in a federal prison for the next thirty years or so.

Posted by: Left of Liberal [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 11, 2005 07:39 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment