Ballot block

When Tom DeLay won the Texas primary for his House seat and then almost immediately resigned after his former chief of staff, Tony Rudy, pleaded guilty to fraud, Texas Republicans tried to get his name off the ballot in the 22nd District of Texas for the November election. An appeals court ruled that DeLay's name must remain on the ballot -- he was the duly elected nominee for the GOP in their own primary -- and so the Texas GOP brought their case to the Supreme Court.

And now Antonin Scalia, of all people, has rejected the appeal and reaffirmed the lower court's decision. Ouch. That's gotta hurt. Scalia? they must be saying. Scalia did this? But ... but ... what about the duck hunting ...?

So now the GOP must keep the indicted DeLay on the ballot come November. I still wouldn't count DeLay out: Texans seem to be able to tolerate almost any abuse laddled out and still come back for more. They might even think having their congressional rep in the pen will make them look "tough."