Sen.Blutarsky 0 #1 January 7, 2006 About damn time … DeLay relinquishes House majority leader post Sat Jan 7, 2006 3:46 PM ET By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, now under indictment in Texas and tainted by a corruption scandal, told fellow House of Representatives Republicans on Saturday that he will not try to reclaim his job as majority leader. "Today I have asked Speaker (Dennis) Hastert to convene our conference for the purpose of electing a new majority leader," DeLay, a close ally of President George W. Bush and one of the most powerful conservatives in Congress, said in a letter to House Republican leaders. DeLay's decision to resign after three years of tumultuous reign as majority leader set off a scramble among at least a handful of Republicans who want to capture the second most powerful post in the House. Whoever wins will face the difficult job of steering the party past the influence-peddling scandal involving Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff that has rocked Washington just as all 435 members of the House gear up for November elections. Abramoff earlier this week pleaded guilty to fraud charges and admitted that he gave golf trips, sports tickets and other gifts to lawmakers in return for special treatment. His potential cooperation with federal investigators left lawmakers rattled and many returned campaign contributions from Abramoff clients. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said DeLay had "engineered" a "culture of corruption ... so pervasive in the Republican conference that a single person stepping down is not nearly enough to clean up the Republican Congress." The White House, which earlier in the week said it would be shedding some Abramoff campaign contributions, supported DeLay's action. "We respect Congressman DeLay's decision to put the interests of the American people, the House of Representatives and the Republican Party first," said spokeswoman Erin Healy. HOUSE JOB OPEN Acting Majority Leader Roy Blunt of Missouri is expected to seek DeLay's job on a more permanent basis. Blunt took over the job in September when DeLay was forced to temporarily resign after being indicted in Texas in a campaign finance case. Those charges were unrelated to the Abramoff scandal. At the time, DeLay insisted that he would be cleared in the Texas case and would retake the powerful majority leader job. Ohio Republican John Boehner, chairman of an education and labor committee, is also expected to mount a strong challenge for majority leader. Hastert, an Illinois Republican, said the elections likely will held during the week of January 31 when the House reconvenes after a long winter break. Some House Republicans have talked about the need to elect all new leaders, but key lawmakers this week said they did not think Hastert would be challenged. DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden said that the 58-year-old Texan, known around Washington as "The Hammer" for his tight control of the House and ability to vanquish political opponents, will retain his seat in the House and is "running for re-election." DeLay's decision to leave the Republican leadership came after a group of moderate and conservative House Republicans abandoned their leader and called for elections to replace him. DeLay's support among rank-and-file Republicans evaporated after Abramoff's guilty pleas this week. At least two former aides of DeLay are entangled in the Abramoff scandal and DeLay has referred to the former lobbyist as a close friend. In his resignation letter, DeLay said he had "always acted in an ethical manner within the rules of our body and the laws of our land. I am fully confident time will bear this out." DeLay, who has blamed his legal troubles on partisan Democrats, said he "cannot allow our adversaries to divide and distract our attention" from legislative work. Source: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-01-07T204558Z_01_KWA682113_RTRUKOC_0_US-CONGRESS-DELAY.xml Blutarsky 2008. No Prisoners! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
micro 0 #2 January 7, 2006 >About damn time … that's the truth. I miss Lee. And JP. And Chris. And... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
b1jercat 0 #3 January 8, 2006 Tip of the iceberg, stay turned for more cum drunk conservatives to come out of the closet. You know who you are. blue skies jerry Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #4 January 9, 2006 QuoteTip of the iceberg, stay turned for more cum drunk conservatives to come out of the closet. You know who you are. blue skies jerry I'll expect to see both sides represented on this one, that's for sure...Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rehmwa 2 #5 January 9, 2006 QuoteI'll expect to see both sides represented on this one, that's for sure... You made a funny. The Dems will get all self righteous and point and laugh and claim victory. THEN, it will cycle the other way and they will get caught. And the Reps will get all self righteous and point and laugh and claim victory. THEN, it will cycle the other way and they will get caught. And the Dems will get all self righteous and point and laugh and claim victory. THEN, it will cycle the other way and they will get caught. And the Reps will get all self righteous and point and laugh and claim victory. THEN, it will cycle the other way and they will get caught. And the Dems will get all self righteous and point and laugh and claim victory. THEN, it will cycle the other way and they will get caught. And the Reps will get all self righteous and point and laugh and claim victory. THEN, it will cycle the other way and they will get caught. And the Dems will get all self righteous and point and laugh and claim victory. They never get kicked at the same time. It's not good news. ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,118 #6 January 9, 2006 >I'll expect to see both sides represented on this one, that's for sure... On the Abramoff thing? It looks 100% republican so far. Won't stop the pundits from trying to spread the blame of course. Watch for the frenzy as republicans scramble to find a "but . . . but . . . they did it too!" angle. That's not to say that next year there won't be a democratic scandal to equal it of course. Such things go in cycles. I think we're seeing the results of one of the more recent cycles - a very hard push by the GOP to take power (which succeeded) following by relevations of the methods they used to obtain it (which weren't all 100% legal.) They will be disgraced; the dems will gain power as a result. Soon they will take most of the both houses. Then a few years in, someone will reveal how _they_ got power, and the cycle will repeat. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #7 January 10, 2006 Unfortunately, I think both you and remwha are right....Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
