The Daily DeLay: T-Minus 11 Days and Counting
DeLay's Sleazy Fundraising Practices

On April 3, 2001, the Associated Press reported that DeLay was making recorded calls to small business owners, promising them meetings with top Bush officials where they could voice their opinions on issues like tax reform in exchange a $20,000 contribution to join his "Business Advisory Council."

The Houston Chronicle has a front page report on Tom DeLay's no good, terrible, very bad day yesterday, and the use of DeLay in campaigns around the country. (Not bad placement for a day when Astros coverage dominated local news.)

Featured in the story is the ad campaign we're launching today in Houston on broadcast TV newscasts:

Wow. Read the Fort Bend Star's Bev's Burner column (thanks to Offthekuff). The whole thing.

It was almost impossible to choose just one (I liked the ending "Although I am a Republican precinct chair, I am reminded of what John F. Kennedy said many years ago: 'Sometimes party loyalty requires too much.'"), but here's a choice paragraph:

Tom DeLay got served.

Associated Press:

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has been subpoenaed to testify in a Texas civil lawsuit about his role in using government resources to track down Democratic legislators who fled the state during last year's bitter redistricting dispute.

The Daily DeLay: T-Minus 12 Days and Counting
DeLay fights for repeal of consumer protections on donors' behalf

On May 14, 1996, Edwin Lupberger, then the CEO of Entergy Corp., wrote DeLay a letter to thank him for meeting with him during a dinner for Republican "Team 100" donors – people who gave or raised over $100,000 for the Republican Party – and discussing pending legislation.

Tom DeLay was among the members of Congress to receive a flu shot, even as the issue of shortages ripple across America as a health and political concern.

Setting aside the possible validity of DeLay's reasoning, that he is in contact with lots of others and needs to prevent himself from spreading the flu, does anyone else believe he is just tone deaf on this, or is he really just out-of-touch?

Bravoria Facts:

DeLay is so out of touch and so arrogant in his sense of entrenched power
that he didn’t even return candidate questionnaires to statewide groups such as
the League of Women Voters.

A defeat for DeLay would go a long way toward persuading others that there
are limits to the level of corruption that even the most partisan district will
accept.

Our campaign to take on Tom DeLay is picking up steam.

Last night, Democracy for America joined in by launching a fundraising campaign to air its ad on DeLay. See it at http://www.retiretomdelay.com.

DeLay can use his influence in Washington to his electoral advantage, but not if he talks about it like this (from the Galveston Daily News):

"As majority leader, there isn’t a piece of legislation that makes it to the floor of the House without me saying so," DeLay said last week.

The Daily DeLay: T-Minus 13 Days and Counting
DeLay offered quid pro quo endorsement to son of Rep. Nick Smith in exchange for Smith’s vote on Medicare.

Earlier this month, Tom DeLay was reprimanded, rebuked, admonished, etc. by the House Ethics Committee for offering a political favor to Congressman Nick Smith (R-MI) in exchange for his support for Bush's Medicare plan.

The Ethics Committee wrote: