DeLay’s noose tightens … and Republicans start feeling antsy

Tom DeLay’s ethics woes went from bad to worse over the weekend.

An Indian tribe and a gambling services company made donations to a Washington public policy group that covered most of the cost of a $70,000 trip to Britain by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), his wife, two aides and two lobbyists in mid-2000, two months before DeLay helped kill legislation opposed by the tribe and the company.

The sponsor of the week-long trip listed in DeLay’s financial disclosures was the nonprofit National Center for Public Policy Research, but a person involved in arranging DeLay’s travel said that lobbyist Jack Abramoff suggested the trip and then arranged for checks to be sent by two of his clients, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and eLottery Inc.

The dates on the checks coincided with the day DeLay left on the trip, May 25, 2000, according to grants documents reviewed by The Washington Post. The Choctaw and eLottery each sent a check for $25,000, according to the documents. They now say that they were unaware the money was being used to finance DeLay’s travels.

The evidence here is more than compelling. House ethics rules allow travel expenses to be paid for only by organizations directly connected to the trips and only for official business, but DeLay’s excursion fails on both counts. House ethics rules mandate that lawmakers accurately report the sources of the funding, but DeLay didn’t. House ethics rules prohibit registered lobbyists from paying for lawmakers’ travel, but DeLay got the money from one. (There’s a handy-dandy graphic on this here.) What’s more, DeLay did the bidding of the Indian tribe and gambling services company, voting to kill a bill that would have limited legal Internet gambling after they paid for his travel.

Which naturally leads to questions about how more disgrace the House GOP caucus will tolerate, allowing DeLay to tarnish his office and sully the institution. At this point, Republicans are standing by their corrupt man, but they’re clearly worried.

With some members increasingly concerned that DeLay had left himself vulnerable to attack, several Republican aides and lobbyists said for the first time that they are worried about whether he will survive and what the consequences could be for the party’s image.

“If death comes from a thousand cuts, Tom DeLay is into a couple hundred, and it’s getting up there,” said a Republican political consultant close to key lawmakers. “The situation is negatively fluid right now for the guy. You start hitting arteries, it only takes a couple.” The consultant, who at times has been a DeLay ally, spoke on the condition of anonymity, saying he could not be candid otherwise.

The Post spoke with six GOP lawmakers, all of whom agreed that the “volume of the revelations about his operation is becoming alarming.” What’s more, none of them thought the scandals would simply go away by waiting them out.

Unfortunately, this has little to do with propriety and everything to do with pragmatism. By that I mean, House Republicans aren’t disgusted by DeLay’s corruption. Indeed, it hardly seems to faze them — they’ve known about it, embraced it, and at times, even encouraged it. Instead, DeLay’s problem is that House Republicans may ultimately find DeLay’s scandals too much of a nuisance and a distraction. It’s not about finding a capable leader they can be proud of; it’s about political expediency.

If Republicans in Congress conclude that DeLay’s corruption may lessen their majority and/or interfere with passing their conservative agenda, then they’ll replace him. If they believe there will be no consequences, DeLay can take comfort in his colleagues’ loyalty.

That is, unless he’s indicted, in which case he’ll lose his post automatically. Stay tuned.