4-26-05, 9:14 am

Imagine being so crooked that you have to maintain a legal defense fund that holds hundreds of thousands of dollars for years. Tom DeLay’s legal defense fund has been going for as long as he has been House majority leader. The 22-year veteran of Congress, under scrutiny for his dealings with 'Casino Jack' Abramoff, a lobbyist being investigated for stealing from his clients, is finding the support from his Party more rhetorical than financial these days. DeLay is under investigation for accepting corporate donations funneled improperly to the campaign funds of other Republican Party candidates, a scheme that is illegal in Texas. Publicly available documents showed that DeLay was personally involved in soliciting these funds from corporate donors for his political action committees, something he had previously denied.

DeLay has already been rebuked three times by the House ethics committee – unanimously – for improprieties ranging from abuse of power to allowing the appearance of improperly soliciting funds from corporate donors in exchange for favorable votes on business pending before Congress

His whole career has been made on solicitation of bribes. No matter how you shake it, this is what it is. He became a powerful leader of the GOP by identifying which corporate interests he could serve, finding out how much money they were willing to give for his services, and funneling this glut of cash to loyal Republicans.

He has so far refused to allow an open, impartial and thorough investigation of his financial dealings and relationships with lobbyists.

His only defense thus far has been to blame a vast left-wing conspiracy and to sidestep the issue by attacking judges, Democrats, and the media.

DeLay’s record makes him one of the most corrupt politicians to have darkened the halls of Congress. He simply lacks the credibility to hold his position, for when could his constituents or any of us have confidence that he isn’t using his power to enrich himself, his family, and to line the pockets of his close friends?

In fact, can we even be sure that members of his Party aren’t more loyal to him personally because of the cash he provides than to their own constituents?

There are no principles behind this type of wheeling and dealing. Let’s not try to fudge his activities by saying he's done whatever he's done for his political beliefs. It is a greedy power grab that undermines the democratic process and disgusts most Americans.



--Contact Clara West at pa-letters@politicalaffairs.net.