DeLay’s Right Move
by Tom Pauken

Congressman DeLay’s surprising decision to step down from Congress and not run for re-election has led a number of political pundits to speculate as to the reasons behind his announcement. Clearly, the political and financial pressures of having to pay huge legal fees to fight the Ronnie Earle indictment in Austin and respond to the Abramoff-driven investigation of a number of Congressmen (including DeLay) had to weigh heavily on the former House Majority Leader.

Tom DeLay is not a wealthy man and reportedly is heavily in debt as a result of having to fight these legal battles while raising money for what would have been a tough re-election battle against the Democratic nominee, former Beaumont Congressman Nick Lampson.

The Congressman acknowledges in his resignation announcement that it would have been tough for him to win in November. "I think I could have won this seat but it would have been nasty. It would have cost a fortune to do it." Now, DeLay can concentrate his personal attention and fund-raising efforts on addressing his legal difficulties in Austin and Washington.

This has to be a difficult decision for the Texas Congressman to make, but it was the right decision for him personally and for his Republican Party which he has worked to advance since his election in 1978 as the first Republican to represent his Ft. Bend legislative district. At that time Republicans were a distinct minority in Texas politics.

It also had to be a crushing blow for Tom DeLay to see two of his former Congressional aides plead guilty last week to influence-peddling -- their being among a number of figures snared in the Abramoff web of scandal to date. Tom DeLay is a savvy politician and he understood that he would be the Democratic punching bag between now and November not just in his own Congressional race but also in Congressional campaigns across the country. His resignation did his party a big favor by taking away that issue from the Democrats this fall.

When all is said and done, Tom DeLay was done in by his own staffers who used their influence with this powerful Republican figure to influence the legislative process on behalf of special interests for their own financial gain.

I always thought (and still do) that Tom DeLay would beat the Earle charges down in Travis County. But I was more troubled by his ex-staffers’ ties to Jack Abramoff, one of the sleaziest operators to hit Washington, D.C., since the days of Bobby Baker. My own sense is that Tom DeLay was badly used by Abramoff, et al. Knowing Tom DeLay, I would be surprised if he enriched himself from what this gang of thieves did. But, even so, he made the mistake of not having people around him with an ethical compass and a "good antenna" to protect him from the Jack Abramoffs of the world. Instead, it appears some of DeLay’s key aides were working for Abramoff (not the Majority Leader), even while they were on Rep. DeLay’s Congressional payroll.

It is a sad end to a remarkable career of a Texas small businessman who became one of the most powerful political figures in Washington, D.C. But, Tom DeLay did the right thing for his family, his Party and his country by making what had to be the toughest decision of his life and resigning from Congress.

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