DeLay Uses Campaign Tactics to Fight Charges

[Judi Lynn]

DeLay Uses Campaign Tactics to Fight Charges

By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 6, 2005; Page A07

With his future tied to the outcome of a criminal indictment in Texas, Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) is using an extraordinary array of campaign tactics to try to win his court battle and save his political career.

Other politicians caught in a legal bind have tried to make a similar case that they were victims of prosecutorial excess or partisan attack. But few have done it to the degree of DeLay and his allies, who have launched an aggressive campaign to portray the former House majority leader as both a victim of a vendetta and an irreplaceable champion of conservatism.

By so doing, DeLay's team hopes to accomplish three critical goals: undermine the stature of his Democratic prosecutor, Ronnie Earle, in the minds of potential Texas jurors; win over DeLay's suburban Houston constituents before a potentially difficult reelection campaign; and retain his political base in Washington before a planned return to power.

The effort includes television advertisement that portrays Earle as a snarling Rottweiler, a staff of well-connected communications aides and skillful lawyers, e-mail blitzes, talking points for friendly radio hosts, speeches and a bulging legal defense fund.
(snip/...)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/05/AR2005110501220.html?nav=rss_politics

[tanyev]

1. Sounds like he's politicizing crime.

[Gman]

9. Good phrase - politicizing crime

nice counter to criminalizing politics.

[belle]

28. Excellent!

[DBoon]

11. I think "poisoning the jury pool" is more like it

bastard

[Erika]

2. Tom DeLay is an elitist corrupt fool

He's paid $14,000 by Faux/Bushco news for one speaking engagement and he tries to say he's for the common man? What a joke.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

10. According to Jim Hightower

Delay's district is known as the silk stocking of Houston

[cassiepriam]

19. This is a shocking article. If he succeeds then we have no legal system.

And the other interesting point is how afraid his fellow repugs are of him.

[bhuddaboy]

3. Good Luck With That, Tom

:sarcasm:

[dmr]

4. Isn't this jury tampering? At least indirectly?

... undermine the stature of his Democratic prosecutor, Ronnie Earle, in the minds of potential Texas jurors ...

I hope the judge issues a gag order.

[corbett]

5. It Seems Like Tampering To Me

My guess is that his big hope is for a change of venue. I don't know if that would work since Texas is such a large state. Of course, if his change of venue pushed him west towards El Paso or Crawford, he might be better off.

Bring on the gag order!

http://www.dccc.org/houseofscandal/main.html

[alarimer]

6. I guess he is trying to poison the potential jury pool

I hope it backfires on him. It only shows what a sleaze he really is.

[grytpype]

7. It's obstruction of justice and highly unethical.

Did you expect anything different?

[sofa king]

8. It's a shame he doesn't have a better legal background...

...Seeing as the son of a bitch is a lawmaker.

[Tight_rope]

12. Tom DeLey is a pathetic piece of scum shit...

And I'm not sure why some people in my district support him. I never did. The bastard had a never to send out e-mails begging people for money to help his no good crooked ass. I would have sent it back say "FUCK YOU, YOU USELESS CROOKED PIECE OF SHIT". But the asshole is so fucking vindictive that I didn't want no shit. Now, all his e-mails go straight to "SPAM MAIL".

[truthisfreedom]

13. interesting. i wonder how it will turn out.

seems corrupt, but i bet what he's doing isn't illegal. sounds like a bad hollywood movie plot, doesn't it?

[expatriot]

14. This is potentially GREAT news for Democrats.

DeLay is putting personal interests ahead of the good of the GOP or conservatism in general. HE is mustering up all the political capital he can muster and using it to bolster himself at the expense of the party overall. I wonder how other Republican powerbrokers feel about this.

He is dead weight that is pulling down the sinking ship of the GOP... instead of "taking one for the team" and cutting himself loose to sink... he has instead doubled his ropings to the mothership, tying their fates together.

[NEOBuckeye]

16. I agree. Let DeLay become the face of the Congressional GOP

As people come to associate DeLay with Republican Congressional politics, they are becoming more and more disgusted with what they are witnessing of his actions.

Although I think it ought to be just one weapon in part of a larger campaign touting reforms, Dems across the country can deal the Repubs a major blow in the 2006 midterms by tarring and feathering their opponents as "The Party of Terrible Tom DeLay".

[JWS]

15. Theyre launching a campaign against the institutions he's supposedly

supported. Being tough on crime and all that shiznat. HE's basically launching a campaign agains tthe judicial institutionswe've basically lived by. It's almost like launching a campaign against the police...

[UpInArms]

17. Welcome to DU JWS!

Glad to have you here :hi:

These criminals have been working a complete campaign to destroy every valid institution in the country.

We are definitely in this for the fight of our lives.

[cassiepriam]

18. Rove will do something similar. They use the tactics they know best.

But Rove will go even more slimy.

[freefall]

20. Who's giving what to the legal defense fund

Public Citizen has a page analyzing the giving to Delay's legal defense fund here:

http://www.citizen.org/congress/delay/

And a PDF listing exactly who and how much here:

http://www.citizen.org/documents/DeLay_Fund_2005_3Q.pdf

Every Democrat running against an incumbent Republican House member next year should check this list out. Thanks to Public Citizen for doing the leg work and making the information available.

[newyawker99]

24. Hi freefall!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[freefall]

27. Thanks newyawker99!

I'm still learning my way around but pleased to be part of this community.:hi:

[Eugene]

21. DeLay wants a change of venue while he is poisoning the jury pool.

Hopefully the judge will see through this stunt,
deny the motion, and impose a gag order on both sides.

[rodeodance]

22. Like the WH--DeLay is in campaign mode.

With his future tied to the outcome of a criminal indictment in Texas, Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) is using an extraordinary array of campaign tactics to try to win his court battle and save his political career.

Other politicians caught in a legal bind have tried to make a similar case that they were victims of prosecutorial excess or partisan attack. But few have done it to the degree of DeLay and his allies, who have launched an aggressive campaign to portray the former House majority leader as both a victim of a vendetta and an irreplaceable champion of conservatism.

[belle]

29. They don't know anything else.

Give 'em the ol' razzle-dazzle...

[0007]

23. Amen!

[happydreams]

25. Politicizing the criminal justice system.

A book called "Defrauding America" shows how it is done.

[Roland99]

26. He and his supporters are dropping TONS of money on his ads.

Wonder how many Katrina and Rita victims he and his supporters could help?

Karma's a bitch, Tom.

[enki23]

30. smear campaign against your prosecutor. how... *republican* of him

.