When Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) announced that he’d like to see Tom DeLay resign his leadership post, he didn’t point to differences of ideology and/or scandals; he said it was important for the party.
“Tom’s conduct is hurting the Republican Party, is hurting this Republican majority and it is hurting any Republican who is up for re-election,” Rep. Chris Shays, a Connecticut Republican, told The Associated Press in an interview, calling for DeLay to step down as majority leader.
As it turns out, this may also include Republicans who are running in open-seat races too.
The ethical questions dogging House Majority Leader Tom DeLay boiled over into the west suburban 6th Congressional District race Thursday, as one Republican pledged support and another called on the Texas congressman to relinquish his leadership post.
“What I read in the paper, whether it’s correct or not, just seems to be an embarrassment for the Republican Party,” said former DuPage County Recorder of Deeds J.P. “Rick” Carney. “To stay in his leadership position seems arrogant to me.”
But state Sen. Peter Roskam, who worked for DeLay 20 years ago, voiced support.
“Trotting out some of … these old accusations that are two and three and four years old is a little bit tiresome,” Roskam said. “I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt.”
This is the race to succeed retiring Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), where two Republicans — one moderate who rejects DeLay, one conservative who embraces him — are vying for the GOP nomination. But it may be symptomatic of a bigger problem: Republican candidates are already having trouble deciding how best to deal with the “DeLay issue.”
It’s coming up now in Illinois’ 6th because Hyde just announced his intentions and candidates are battling for position, but the entertaining thing will be to see this play out in dozens of districts, nationwide, with Republicans who have close ties to DeLay but don’t how best (or whether) to admit it.
Then again, the party could just throw him overboard and skip the whole problem.