Tom DeLay’s outrageous behavior may not be in the headlines right now — we’ll probably have to wait until the House Ethics Committee is done investigating his many transgressions — but it’s encouraging to see support for his legal defense fund dry up.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) is getting less help from his colleagues when it comes to paying his legal bills.
The liberal advocacy group Public Citizen, which analyzed DeLay’s disclosure reports, said yesterday that just two other House members gave money to the Republican leader’s defense fund during the past quarter. Reps. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.) and Paul E. Gillmor (R-Ohio) gave $7,000 to the fund, which raised $42,000 in that quarter.
There seems to be something of a trend:
* Two quarters ago, DeLay’s legal defense fund received contributions from 36 House Republicans totaling $174,000.
* One quarter ago, DeLay’s fund received contributions from nine House Republicans totaling $30,000.
* This quarter, DeLay’s fund received contributions from two House Republicans totaling $7,000.
Public Citizen’s Joan Claybrook said, “Clearly, the contributions to DeLay’s legal defense fund are dropping at the same rate as his stock on Capitol Hill.” Given this fall off, it’s hard to argue with that.
And it couldn’t have happened to a more appropriate person.