{"id":7052,"date":"2006-04-05T09:10:18","date_gmt":"2006-04-05T13:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com\/?p=7052"},"modified":"2006-04-05T09:10:18","modified_gmt":"2006-04-05T13:10:18","slug":"delays-not-so-bright-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/delays-not-so-bright-future\/","title":{"rendered":"DeLay’s not-so-bright future"},"content":{"rendered":"

[tag]Tom DeLay[\/tag] is clearly thinking ahead right now and, at least on the surface, is encouraged by what he sees. Whether it’s misplaced confidence or empty bravado, [tag]DeLay[\/tag] seems convinced that he’s going to remain a powerful force in politics for the foreseeable [tag]future[\/tag]. It’s probably the same arrogance that led him to ask, “What could possibly go wrong?” when Jack Abramoff invited him to go golfing in Scotland.<\/p>\n

As he told Time<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“I can do more on the outside of the House than I can on the inside right now. I want to continue to fight for the conservative cause. I want to continue to work for a Republican majority. It’s obvious to me over the last few months, I have tremendous support, not just in the 22nd District.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

DeLay also told the Galveston News<\/a>, “I can continue to be a leader of the conservative cause.”<\/p>\n

I realize that DeLay’s been under quite a strain lately, but if he seriously believes he’s going to be national conservative leader after he resigns from the House, he’s in deep, deep denial.<\/p>\n

For one thing, he’s facing felony charges in Texas, and may soon be facing even more serious [tag]criminal[\/tag] charges<\/a> in D.C. “Any rational person in his (DeLay’s) position would be very concerned,” said Kendall Coffey, a former federal prosecutor. Stanley Brand, a Washington lawyer who’s defended about two dozen cases involving official corruption charges, said the Tony Rudy plea deal “is just the beginning.”<\/p>\n

For another, DeLay seems confused about the source of his influence. He’s been a right-wing hero, but it came as a result of his ability to leverage the power of his office. DeLay ran the House with a clenched fist, demanded party loyalty, and punished anyone who strayed or got in his way. But without an office from which to rule, DeLay is a former bug-spray salesman who was forced to resign from Congress in disgrace. It’s not exactly the kind of development that launches a successful post-political career.<\/p>\n

And lastly, there’s no real evidence that anyone, anywhere, wants<\/i> him<\/a> to “lead the [tag]conservative[\/tag] cause.”
\n<\/p>\n

Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) was skeptical of DeLay’s chances of remaking himself.<\/p>\n

“In this town, out of sight is out of mind. People fade very quickly once they’re out of power. I think he’ll fade,” LaHood said.<\/p>\n

Paul Weyrich, chairman of the Free [tag]Congress[\/tag] Foundation, a grass-roots conservative organization, scoffed at the notion that DeLay would become a leader of [tag]social conservatives[\/tag]. “As an elected official, when he called conservatives together, he was in a position to do so,” [tag]Weyrich[\/tag] said. “On what basis does he operate from the outside?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

DeLay, as a powerful House Majority Leader, found admiration from right-wingers everywhere. DeLay, as a former member of Congress who had to run away when things got tough, may find that his phone will ring a lot less.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[tag]Tom DeLay[\/tag] is clearly thinking ahead right now and, at least on the surface, is encouraged by what he sees. Whether it’s misplaced confidence or empty bravado, [tag]DeLay[\/tag] seems convinced that he’s going to remain a powerful force in politics for the foreseeable [tag]future[\/tag]. It’s probably the same arrogance that led him to ask, “What […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[617],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7052\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}