Underneath the Radar

Contrary to Tom DeLay's assertion in his recent Fox News interview that "[t]he Abramoff affair has nothing to do" with him, the Abramoff affair has almost everything to do with him. In fact, the only person the Abramoff affair has more to do with than Tom DeLay is Jack Abramoff. DeLay knows it, we know it and even the cherubs at Fox-freaking-news know it.

Why else would he suddenly resign a mere three days after his former deputy Chief of Staff, Tony Rudy, pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy in the Abramoff investigation, who no doubt had been fingered by Abramoff himself? DeLay certainly displayed no qualms about continuing "the people's work" when he ran in and won his Texas primary back on March 7.

Let's recall the celebration back then:

I have always placed my faith in the voters, and today's vote shows they have placed their full faith in me.

Democrat attacks and the politics of personal destruction were heavily used by my opponents in this Republican primary, and they were rejected just like they will be in November.

Woo hoo! November! DeLay could hardly wait. Indeed, DeLay was informing those trusty Texas voters that November would be glorious affirmation of his vaunted status and rightful throne, despite the niggling annoyance of a "purely partisan" indictment hanging over his bouffont head. Nonetheless, when Rudy went down, DeLay smelled the burnt toast. Clearly, the Sgt. Schultz defense was not going to have much traction and DeLay simply looked ridiculous claiming, as Ken Lay has done, that, yes, he was surrounded by bad people doing bad things, but he knew nothing about it! Even on those golf trips paid for Abramoff. Nothing!

Despite his obvious connections to Abramoff, DeLay was basing his claim of disconnection on the fact the federal investigation of Abramoff was not the same one that led to his own indictment, which was brought by Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle, for violations of Texas election law. To think that Abramoff had no hand in the alleged violations of election campaign finance laws would be, at best, naive. One of Abramoff's many talents, apart from defrauding cruise ship companies, displaying some less than distant ties to mobsters and defrauding Indian tribes of millions, was funneling money into GOP election campaigns. Frankly, I'll be amazed if the Feds don't nail DeLay but they may be exercising some circumspection here by letting Texas have first crack at him.

In any event, DeLay has now decided to step down from pubic office, either because he figured that he might not have much choice in the near future or because he was seriously in danger of not actually getting elected. Probably, it is both. But DeLay has vowed to continue to threaten American democracy and good governance by informing us all that he will move to Virginia so that he may make a "successful transition" to private life. This is retiring elected official code for becoming a lobbyist whereby he may continue to suckle the public teat, continuing his GOP money operation outside the purview of pubic scrutiny. Hopefully, Earle or the Feds can prevent that from happening.