Once Tom DeLay was actually indicted, he finally lost the perks of his position as House Majority leader. But not, apparently, out of power:
- "DeLay is driving the agenda," said one senior Republican lawmaker who did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of talking about internal party matters. "I guess he has to be because he is the only guy who can get this done."
In a closed meeting last Thursday, he was still dominating discussions of policy. And that extends to his nuts-and bolts role in House management:
- Mr. DeLay was serving in his familiar role last Friday, rounding up elusive votes on the floor of the House as Republicans barely staved off defeat of a measure they said would spur construction of oil refineries.
The explanation for this, which you get from spokesmen for more than one House member, is that the guy just gives good advice:
- "He is still dialed in and gives good counsel, and that is what we are seeking," said John Scofield, a spokesman for Representative Jerry Lewis, the California Republican who is chairman of the Appropriations Committee, in explaining why Mr. Lewis called in Mr. DeLay for advice last week.
Well, gosh darn it, they just don't know what they'd do without him. Fortunately for the Republicans, House members can seek counsel from anybody, even if, for some reason, they're kicked out of the House altogether. So, no matter what happens to DeLay, they'll still be able to contact him and seek his sage advice. As followers of mob literature know, there are precedents for large, economically significant American organizations being run out of prison...
2 Comments:
Perhaps DeLay has refused to become marginalized because like most free thinking people he knows that the "indictment" against him is a total sham based on political ideology and not on any facts. Whereas an indictment can be achieved in any situation, a conviction is a wholly nouther matter. Even if Earle is able to keep the indictment held for trail, he will not get a conviction. I believe that if you study the charges very carefully, you will come to the same conclusion.
Folks on the right keep claiming that the prosecutor is driven by his ideology. Whatever that ideology might be, it's driven him to indict more Democrats than Republicans over the course of his career, nominal party affiliation be damned. (Perhaps he just doesn't like crooks).
As to the evidence, it seems pretty persuasive to me, but what ultimately will matter, I expect, is what the jury thinks.
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