Tom Delay has a bad week

[TheDoctor]

Poor Tom Delay. He has had a bad week. First he launched his new career as a blogger only to have his site closed down after some liberals postes some amusing comments on the blog. Now the blog does not allow posts without being reviewed in advanced. Someone saved these posts but they are so bad that I can not post most of them on the DIS.

Second, there was a special election or runoff in Texas where the only Hispanic GOP House member was voted out of office in part as a rebuke to Delay. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121301918.html?nav=hcmodule

AUSTIN, Dec. 13 -- Former congressman Ciro Rodriguez's victory in a House runoff election Tuesday in Texas not only allowed Democrats to pick up their 30th seat of the 2006 elections but served as a final rebuke to one of the architects of the Republican House majority: Tom DeLay.

The former congressman from Texas was the mastermind of a 2003 redrawing of congressional lines in the state that led to the removal of six House Democrats in the 2004 elections.

Two years later, DeLay's fortunes have suffered a near-total reversal, as the redistricting map that once seemed certain to cement his legacy and GOP majorities for years has instead led to the end of that career and may well be a building block for a reenergized Democratic Party in the state.

On Nov. 7, a Democrat won the seat vacated by DeLay, and on Tuesday, Rodriguez defeated seven-term Rep. Henry Bonilla in the runoff in Texas's 23rd District. With nearly all precincts reporting in the state's largest district, Rodriguez had won 54 percent of the vote to Bonilla's 45 percent.

"The genius of Tom DeLay is now seriously in question," said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. He added that the overall result of the DeLay-led redistricting plan was, "at best, a wash for Texas."

In order to get the Texas redistrcting bill passed, Delay violated FAA Rules (and was censored for this by the House Ethics Committee), shut down the Texas Legislature and caused two special sessions to be held and have not cost Texas it chance to have any of its representatives as chair on the major committees in the House.

 

[mom*to*2*princesses]

hold on just a second...I know it's here somewhere...ah, there it is, buried way in the back under my ginormous Bush tax refund and those pesky weapons of mass destruction:

my little, tiny violin

 

[crazyforgoofy]

hold on just a second...I know it's here somewhere...ah, there it is, buried way in the back under my ginormous Bush tax refund and those pesky weapons of mass destruction:

my little, tiny violin

 

[eclectics]

Karma sometimes has a sense of humor!

 

[yeartolate]

Any word on his criminal woes?

 

[TheDoctor]

Any word on his criminal woes?

Yes. The Travis County District Attorney has appealed the dismissal of a conspiracy charge against DeLay to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (which is highest court of appeals for criminal matters). The Court of Appeals has agreed to hear the appeal of the Travis County DA. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/09/texas-high-court-to-consider.php

Texas' highest court for criminal cases announced Wednesday that it will consider whether to reinstate conspiracy charges [JURIST document] against former US Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) [official profile; JURIST news archive]. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals [official website] granted a request [JURIST report] by Travis County Prosecutor Ronnie Earle [official profile], although it did not set a date for oral arguments. The charges of conspiracy to violate election law and conspiracy to commit money laundering were dismissed [JURIST report] last December after the trial court found that the campaign finance law DeLay allegedly broke was not enacted until after DeLay committed the acts for which he was indicted. In April, the Texas Third Court of Appeals affirmed that decision [JURIST report] but refused to dismiss money laundering charges [JURIST document]. In dismissing the conspiracy charges, the Third Court of Appeals noted that although Earle's arguments for reinstatement were strong, they conflicted with precedents established by the Court of Criminal Appeals. No trial date has been set for the money laundering charges.

This appears to be bad news for DeLay. The Court of Criminal Appeals has total discretion on the cases it hears and here the Third Court of Appeals set up the CCA to clarify some decisions that will allow the conspiracy chargest to go forward against DeLay. The CCA could have refused to accept the case and then the trial for DeLay on the remaining charges would be gearing up.

Once the CCA rules one way or another, the trial on the remaining charges will be occur. That shoud be sometime in mid to late 2007. Even if the CCA backs DeLay, there will still be a trial on the remaining charges.

 

[yeartolate]

Ca't they convict him of just being a creep????

 

[bimshire]

He used to be the Hammer.

 

[yeartolate]

He used to be the Hammer.

Yeah, bummer for him he got nailed.

 

[TheDoctor]

Ca't they convict him of just being a creep????

There are some officials in the local Ft. Bend and Harris County GOP parties and the State GOP who might agree with this. DeLay's resignation was designed to help him raise money for his legal defense fund and as a result the GOP was left having a write in candiate on the ballot who had no chance in November. After the Fifth Cir. ruled against the Texas GOP there were some members of the GOP who were very mad at DeLay including some who were very happy that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed to hear the appeal of the Travis County District Attiorney seeking to reinstate one of the charges against DeLay. I know one GOP party member who was mad as heck at DeLay for his selfish stunt