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More Scrutiny of Tom DeLay

By TChris, Section Other Politics
Posted on Tue Apr 05, 2005 at 09:13:18 PM EST
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by TChris

Tom DeLay's hope that he could distract voters with Terri Schiavo was fleeting. Only the most extreme shared his desire to see the federal courts interfere with an intensely personal struggle that had already played out in state courts.

Now it's back to reality for DeLay. Despite offering "a vigorous public defense in recent weeks to a flurry of ethics accusations," DeLay and his PAC, Americans for a Republican Majority, face new scrutiny.

The wife and daughter of Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, have been paid more than $500,000 since 2001 by Mr. DeLay's political action and campaign committees, according to a detailed review of disclosure statements filed with the Federal Election Commission and separate fund-raising records in Mr. DeLay's home state, Texas.

Most of the payments to his wife, Christine A. DeLay, and his only child, Dani DeLay Ferro, were described in the disclosure forms as "fund-raising fees," "campaign management" or "payroll," with no additional details about how they earned the money.

Maybe his wife and daughter are worth the money, but contributors to the PAC must be wondering whether their cash was simply diverted to benefit the DeLay household.

"It's DeLay Inc. " said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a research group that has closely monitored Mr. DeLay and his campaign fund-raising and expenditures. "If it's not illegal, it certainly is inappropriate for members of Congress to use their positions to enrich their families."

More embarrassing are the "lavish, privately financed overseas trips for Mr. DeLay and his aides, including a 1997 trip to Russia that was underwritten by a conservative education group closely linked to a powerful Republican lobbyist who often boasted of his influence with the majority leader." Will the time soon come when DeLay's constituents exceed their embarrassment threshold, say "enough is enough," and elect a replacement?

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    More Scrutiny of Tom DeLay | 10 comments (10 topical)
    Re: More Scrutiny of Tom DeLay (none / 0) (#1)
    by scarshapedstar on Tue Apr 05, 2005 at 11:39:13 PM EST
    Don't let the flyswatter hit you on the way out, bugman.

    Re: More Scrutiny of Tom DeLay (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 06, 2005 at 07:04:53 AM EST
    lovin' it, Scar. One of your best comments I've seen to date! Couldn't say it better myself!

    Re: More Scrutiny of Tom DeLay (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 06, 2005 at 07:20:49 AM EST
    "deflective tactic will not work for delay"
    nor the tactics of some here, who shall remain nameless, but there name is well known. delay has crossed the line. from seldom-right-advice: cut your losses, fight a battle you can win, or just do politics. either way delay is damaged and most probably done (it'll be slow).

    Re: More Scrutiny of Tom DeLay (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 06, 2005 at 07:30:34 PM EST
    This figures out to be $62,500 per employee a year, and it is unclear wether the totals cover insurance, gas/hotel reimbursements, etc as well. If it does, these could well be only $35,000 to $45,000 a year jobs we are talking about. So what? Blood buys loyalty in political campaigns, and plenty of this goes around. Delay's daughter definitely puts in a lot of work- This is a smear job.

    Re: More Scrutiny of Tom DeLay (none / 0) (#4)
    by Richard Aubrey on Wed Apr 06, 2005 at 07:33:51 PM EST
    You will note, further along in the article, that others, including democrats, have hired relatives. The only question here is whether paying somebody between $40k &$50k is overpaying. Since the entire issue is laid out in the article, it would seem kind of tactically lame to think this can make Delay look bad. [This commenter is now limited to four comments a day. All in excess will be deleted.]

    Re: More Scrutiny of Tom DeLay (none / 0) (#7)
    by Richard Aubrey on Thu Apr 07, 2005 at 04:59:24 AM EST
    Dark. You got it wrong...again. Nepotism is ages-old. But the point is failing to point to democrats practicing nepotism, in effect, choosing whom to point to by party. Pretending Delay is the only one. Making it look particularly bad when he does it while by implication excusing the dems who do it. Double standards. See?

    Re: More Scrutiny of Tom DeLay (none / 0) (#8)
    by soccerdad on Thu Apr 07, 2005 at 05:30:44 AM EST
    This but one of many charges against Delay. This by itself would blow over, more than likely. As it stands, its just one more piece in the puzzle that shows Delay to be at the bottom of the barrel.

    Re: More Scrutiny of Tom DeLay (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Apr 07, 2005 at 02:27:10 PM EST
    But the point is failing to point to democrats practicing nepotism, in effect, choosing whom to point to by party.
    Um this is a liberal site, Richard. Feel free to do the research yourself and bring your points here. I'm sooooo sick of Republican apologists. You're going to have to do better than "so what? we go to church!" in 2008.

    Re: More Scrutiny of Tom DeLay (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Apr 07, 2005 at 02:28:16 PM EST
    I was no big Clinton fan either, but I say (attributed to bumper sticker in my neighborhood) "Better an unwise hummer than an unarmored Humvee!"

    Re: More Scrutiny of Tom DeLay (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Apr 07, 2005 at 05:34:48 PM EST
    For all that is known now, they could've been holding regular 40 hr a week job and getting paid for side work done after 9 to 5. Just saying.

    More Scrutiny of Tom DeLay | 10 comments (10 topical)