Texan star begins to lose his shine as scandals rattle Republican allies

[struggle4progress]

From Roland Watson in Washington

<snip> Mr DeLay, cheerleader of the Christian Right and ruthless legislator on its behalf, wields more power over the US domestic landscape than President Bush. But the Republican leader in the House of Representatives is spending much of his time battling sleaze claims while fending off criminal investigators. The latest revelation this week was that he paid his wife and daughter $500,000 (£270,000) from campaign funds.

The dubious funding of three overseas trips — to Britain, South Korea and Russia — appears to fall foul of House ethics rules. The British visit was largely paid for by $50,000 of tainted Indian gambling money. Republican congressmen are twitchy. The Wall Street Journal, the house journal of the Right, says there is “an odour” about Mr DeLay. <snip>

He has been criticised three times by the House Ethics Committee for sins that included trying to win a congressman’s support for a key vote by offering tens of thousands of dollars to support his son’s political future. Since then Mr DeLay has purged the committee, packing it with loyalists who have helped bankroll him. Accompanying rule changes make it virtually impossible for charges against a Republican to progress. <snip>

If he is indicted by the Texas District Attorney he will have to quit as majority leader. (He tried to re-write that rule, too, but was forced to relent by embarrassed colleagues.) “He’s got very severe problems,” said Jan Reid, co-author of a DeLay biography, referring to the Texas indictments. “I used to think it would stop somewhere short of him. I’m beginning to think not.” <snip>

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1561077,00.html