Time's Up for Tom DeLay

"I am the federal government."

– Tom DeLay, responding to a government employee who tried to prevent him from smoking on government property. The New York Times, June 13, 2003

Think of Tom DeLay as that snotty, privileged kid on the playground. He's already gotten at least four strikes, blames the ump, threatens those who suggest he sit down, and then tells his friends that he hit a home run. Oh, and he's got all the candy.

Now imagine that kid as the House Majority Leader and head of a political action committee that distributes money and assistance to Republican incumbents and candidates – 241 out of 246 Republicans in the House to be exact.

The 10th term Republican from Sugarland, Texas – known as "The Hammer" for his vindictive politics – was served a subpoena last week and faces a forehead-slapping fourth letter of admonition next week from the bipartisan House Ethics Committee.

The latest has the committee investigating whether or not he illegally funneled corporate money into Texas statehouse races through TRMPAC, his political action committee. It just may be the one that sticks since, according to the Center for American Progress, "criminal indictments for alleged illegal fundraising have (already) been issued by a Texas grand jury against three of DeLay's cronies." One faces 99 years in the pokey.

You might expect a man with such a soiled record to be headed for certain defeat in his bid for an 11th term. But the powerful Texas Republican appeared to be coasting into the November 2 election – until recently.

Once, Twice, Three times a Defendant

DeLay's special relationship with congressional codes of conduct, and ethics in general, goes back quite a way. In a 1997 letter, the House Ethics Committee wrote that his actions "create(d) the impression that official access or action are linked with campaign contributions...."

Since that time the accumulated scandals, lawsuits, and rebukes have prompted even the typically staid press to make these rather forceful comments:

"He has used his power for self-aggrandizement... he has scoffed at the law, House rules and simple propriety. DeLay has abused his position and embarrassed the House." -Austin American-Statesman, 10/10/04

"(T)he man's got a problem.... It smacks of a pattern of abuse. Worse, it reveals a contempt for how the House should work." -Dallas Morning News, 10/12/04

Even the Chicago Tribune, fresh from endorsing Bush for president, wrote:

"[DeLay's] angry reaction to being admonished by his peers shows that DeLay is too arrogant to mend his ways." -Chicago Tribune, 10/11/04

If these critiques sound extreme, they can't touch his resume. DeLay recently had a banner week during which he received two letters of admonishment from the House Ethics Committee.

The first showcased his trademark contempt for the American political process. In order to ensure that he had enough votes to pass the Medicare Prescription Drug Act, DeLay offered to endorse Republican Nick Smith's son in his race for Congress in exchange for the senior Smith's vote.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Like the head of a crime family, DeLay had others do his dirty work. In Smith's own words: "And they (Republicans in Congress) said, well, if you don't change your vote – this takes place at about 4 am on a Saturday morning – then some of us are going to work to make sure your son doesn't get to Congress." After he voted no and even though the bill did get enough "votes," the Chicago Sun-Times reported: "(Rep.) Duke Cunningham of California and other Republicans taunted him that his son was dead meat." Unsurprisingly, his son went on to lose his bid for Congress.

The second was more of a blanket admonishment, encompassing as it did two separate events. Eyebrows were raised after DeLay attended a golf tournament with energy executives shortly after receiving $25,000 from them for "a seat at the table" and shortly before deliberating on an energy bill in which said executives had a vested interest. Sounds an awful lot like that 1997 committee criticism that DeLay gives the "impression" of trading money for influence.