Category Archives: Scandalized!

Who better to comment on campaign finance reform than a true insider? A Republican political consultant under indictment on charges of taking illegal corporate contributions in the 2002 House races is urging lawmakers to defeat a bill to tighten the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I haven’t had much to say lately about everyone’s favorite corrupt House Majority Leader. Not because there hasn’t been anything to say or because I’ve lost interest in watching his inexorable descent, not at all. It’s just that there’s so … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Just wanted to note that Ralph Reed and Grover Norquist have been subpoenaed by the Senate subcommittee on Indian affairs as part of its probe into the activities of DeLay associate Jack Abramoff. The Chron picks up the story today. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There’s a limited number of terminals available here and there’s often a crowd, so I’ve got to pick my spots for blogging. I want to call your attention to these two posts by Greg concerning the email Tom DeLay has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Star Telegram reports on another potential casualty of the Abramoff casino scandal: Senator John Cornyn, from his time as Texas’ Attorney General. The closing of the Speaking Rock Casino near El Paso in February 2002 was one of John … Continue reading → Continue reading →

John Cobarruvias has a report from the anti-DeLay protest outside the NRA convention yesterday. Pictures can be found here, here, and here. Sure is nice to see DeLay described by a mainstream source as “embattled”, isn’t it? Continue reading →

Greg observes President Bush’s evolving relationship with Tom DeLay. Parallels to his friendship/nonfriendship with Kenny Boy Lay are strictly coincidental. Nice to know that someone in Utah still loves The Hammer. Media Matters rounds up a bunch of anti-DeLay editorials … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Will the TRMPAC scandals reach the Governor’s office? Republican State Rep. Tommy Merritt is claiming that Rick Perry’s former chief of staff Mike Toomey urged him to sign a pledge card for Tom Craddick in return for a promise to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Keith Gaddie of Sooner Politics has a personal interest in the maelstrom surrounding Tom DeLay. I have a little issue of my own, in the interest of coming clean. I’m working on a book on the Texas redistricting, and nothing … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Rep. Beverly Woolley, come on down! You are our next contestant on The Price (For Getting Favorable Legislation) Is Right! A Houston legislator who chairs the committee that sets bills for House debate once promised a gambling promoter that she … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Let’s start our Tour DeLay today with the top story in the Chron, which is a recap of the Abramoff saga. Not much really new there. Cragg Hines muses about what an actual smoking gun from Abramoff might look like. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There’s been speculation for some time now that one or more of the TRMPAC defendants may choose to turn state’s evidence on the Toms Craddick and DeLay, since jail time is not likely to appeal to pampered consultants like them. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’m a little tied up right now, so I’ll have to mark these for future reading: Broken Hammer Standing By Their Man Joe Conanson on Randy DeLay Tom DeLay’s Extreme Makeover. All I can say is that if it involves … Continue reading → Continue reading →

DeLay defense fund donations slow Donations to Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s defense fund have slowed considerably in the last few months. Some of his critics hope to cut the money flow even more with a new line of attack launched … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s not just a DeLay drumbeat out there, it’s an entire marching band. Yet another lobbyist-paid junket (of which DeLay knew nothing! nothing!) along with Jack Abramoff and a nice fat paycheck for his wife to do…something, I guess. The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Statesman takes a look at the question of jurisdiction over Tom DeLay, a question that I’ve ruminated about a few times. State law generally prohibits spending corporate money on campaigns. But [Travis County DA Ronnie] Earle always has faced … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The official Tom DeLay response to the poll that shows voters in his district don’t like him so much is sticking his fingers in his ears and chanting “LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!” A DeLay aide pointed out … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Lo! there were chickens. And they did come home to roost. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s footing among his constituents has slipped drastically during the past year and a majority of his district disapproves of how he handled the Terri … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Catching up on a few things… Bill Hammond and the Texas Association of Business have been added as defendants to an existing lawsuit filed in 2002. The suit alleges the group and Hammond conspired with Texans for a Republican Majority, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Yoo hoo! Republican Congressional leaders! Want to find a painless budget cut? Here you go. Nearly a decade after he was appointed to investigate then-Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros, independent counsel David M. Barrett spent more than $1.26 million of federal … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I consider myself quite the aficionado of anti-Tom DeLay editorials. This one may be the harshest I’ve seen yet. THE LATE Okie troubadour Roger Miller sang about a man who treated his wife so shabbily that, during her testimony in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One last thought for the day on L’Affaire DeLay: When Aggies turn against you, can the rest of Texas be far behind? Continue reading →

By now you’ve probably heard of the anti-DeLay ads that are being run here in Houston (the Chron has a video link) and in various other Congressional districts – see here for more on that. Couple things to mention here, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The best thing about this Chron story on the Wall Street Journal’s anti-DeLay editorial and the reaction to same is the following quote at the very end: But some observers of Congress say ethics probes can suddenly flare out of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I always appreciate stories like this, which help me to realize where the current bounds of my cynicism are. The leader of Texas’ largest business association is endorsing a proposal that would make it more expensive for racetracks to operate … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This Kos diary nicely summarizes the case against Tom DeLay as put together by Common Cause (you can also see it here and here. There’s more, so much more, from the NYT to the Charleston Gazette (reproduced here) to the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Wow. A genius like Abramoff doesn’t spring fully formed on his own. Just as Michelangelo emerged in the ferment of Renaissance Italy, so did Abramoff emerge from his own circle of creativity and encouragement. Back in 1995, when Republicans took … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Just a few links for a lazy Sunday… Is Tom DeLay approaching a tipping point? More trouble for DeLay’s buddy Jack Abramoff. The Senate Finance Committee is investigating the activities of a tax-exempt foundation controlled by Jack Abramoff, a powerful … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Tom DeLay Scandal Spillover Vortex has claimed another casualty. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, was listed as a special guest and speaker in 2002 for Texans for a Republican Majority. While investigating DeLay’s conduct last year, the House committee deferred … Continue reading → Continue reading →

He can deny it all he likes, but the documentation of Tom DeLay’s wrongdoing keeps piling up. U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s federal leadership political fund apparently coordinated with a Texas committee to deliver $23,000 in contributions to Texas … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Do you live in a Republican-held Congressional district? The DCCC has a little project for you regarding the current status of the House Ethics Committee. It’s based on this observation by Kagro X, and expanded on here, here, and here … Continue reading → Continue reading →

And the DeLay drums keep on beating. Click on over to the Daily DeLay and learn about the Public Campaign Action Fund’s Without DeLay project. Here’s their Top Ten list of reasons why Tom DeLay should take his leave from … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Nothing brightens my week quite like a continued flow of news about bad behavior by Tom DeLay. DeLay Ethics Allegations Now Cause of GOP Concern “If death comes from a thousand cuts, Tom DeLay is into a couple hundred, and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I believe they call this revising and extending one’s original remarks. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said Wednesday he served as a creator, adviser and fund-raiser to a Texas-based political action committee now under state criminal investigation, but he was … Continue reading → Continue reading →