Ex-aide used links to DeLay to land clients

[WestHoustonDem]

From http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3764818.html

<snip>AUSTIN - Fundraising activities for U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay's powerful political machine apparently were used as opportunities by his former chief of staff to land lobby clients who paid him $770,000 over four years, state and federal documents show.

The former aide is Ed Buckham, a lobbyist who once was the driving force behind DeLay's political organization. Buckham left DeLay's congressional office in 1997 to set up his lobby operation, Alexander Strategy Group, but recent national lobby scandals forced him to close the operation earlier this year.

This past Friday, one of Buckham's lobby partners, former DeLay aide Tony Rudy, pleaded guilty to corruption charges related to work he did with convicted influence peddler Jack Abramoff prior to working with Buckham at Alexander.
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[acmejack]

1. Corruption & Delay in the same sentence, amazing no?

I bet you were simply floored. The crooks continue to fall, it just couldn't happen to a nicer (and more deserving) group of individuals.

[PDittie]

2. Did you see

Josh Marshall on this?

As DeLay's lawyer Richard Cullen told a conference call of reporters today, "Tom DeLay was (not) aware of the wrongs that Mr. Rudy was committing. As long as people are telling the truth, Mr. DeLay has no fear about this investigation."

So run down the list.

Key DeLay-wired lobbyist Jack Abramoff -- convicted felon.

Michael Scanlon, former DeLay aide and spokesman -- convicted felon.

Tony Rudy, former DeLay deputy chief of staff -- convicted felon.

Ed Buckham, former DeLay Chief of Staff and pastor -- implicated in Rudy's plea, up front costs for lobby shop funded by Abramoff clients, helped funnel Russian oil-KGB money to DeLay, Inc.

Spokesman, Deputy Chief of Staff, Chief of Staff. A few aides here and a few aides there, and pretty soon you've got a whole org chart.

When you put it all in perspective and stop seeing through the distorted prism of the liberal media, you start to understand DeLay was a veritable Gandhi-with-the-virgins or the one good man in Sodom when it came to ethics.

Now I'm not much of a Christian, but I do know that Jesus wasn't a big fan of hypocrisy:

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Matthew 23: 27, 28

So what do you think would have been Jesus' reaction to this:

Embattled U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay was warmly welcomed by conservative Christians at a conference in Washington.

While he didn't talk about his upcoming trial on money-laundering charges, the former House majority leader did say that the enemies of virtue are on the march.

America today is "a society that abides abortion on demand, has killed millions of innocent children, degrades the institution of marriage, and often treats Christianity like some second-rate superstition," DeLay said.

I think it would be what Frederick from Hannah and Her Sisters said... "If Jesus came back and saw what was going on in His name, He'd never stop throwing up."

[muse]

3. Buckham was DeLay's closest spiritual advisor

Yeah, no kidding. That is how he is described if you take a look around.

He ran the U.S. Family Network.