Despite his primary victory -- and his enduring ability to shake down GOP donors -- a DeLay victory in November is far from assured. Mar. 10, 2006 | Judging by the mainstream media's coverage of Tuesday's primary in Texas, Tom DeLay won a new lease on his congressional district by inflicting a decisive defeat on his Republican challengers. When the ballots were counted that evening, the former House majority leader and current Travis County criminal defendant had won 62 percent of the vote, against a combined total of 38 percent cast for his three opponents.
Appropriately enough, he celebrated at a fundraising party hosted by Washington power couple Bill Paxon and Susan Molinari, both of whom happen to be former members of Congress turned corporate lobbyists. Nothing better symbolized his confidence that the voters of his state's 22nd Congressional District would ignore his indictment by district attorney Ronnie Earle for corporate fundraising violations, his three ethics admonishments by fellow Republicans in Congress, his forced resignation as majority leader or his extensive involvement with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
In that sense DeLay was at least partially vindicated. Most of the Republicans he represents simply don't care about his transgressions.
Yet as the longtime incumbent surely understood, he had little reason to gloat as he raked in still more money from the influence peddlers. Within hours after the primary results were reported, Congressional Quarterly magazine revised its rating of his district's likely November outcome from "leans Republican" to "tossup." To C.Q.'s analysts, the Hammer still seems highly vulnerable to his Democratic adversary in the general election, former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson. Indeed, despite his overwhelming primary victory, those professionals consider him more endangered now than ever.
more…
http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2006/03/10/delay/
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
