Campaign for America's Future: DeLay Explain Your Darling Relationship

[paineinthearse]

Campaign for America's Future Demands Explanation of Tom DeLay's Darling Relationship; Majority Leader Connected to GOP Schiavo Strategy Memo Author

4/7/2005 4:31:00 PM


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To: National and State Desks

Contact: Toby Chaudhuri of the Campaign for America's Future, 202-955-5665 ext. 133

WASHINGTON, April 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -– The Campaign for America's Future today challenged House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) to explain his relationship to corporate lobbyist Brian H. Darling. Darling is the author of the Republican strategy memo that said the personal tragedy of Terri Schiavo presents a "great political issue" for Republicans.

Rep. DeLay last month told the conservative Family Research Council that "God brought to us" the Terri Schiavo tragedy and linked it to a strategy to defend the conservative movement.

Darling worked for the Alexander Strategy Group, a Washington-based corporate lobbying firm heavily connected to Rep. DeLay. Darling's clients included Universal Bearing, Inc., a company owned by the Hanwha Group, which has direct ties to the foreign agent that paid for Rep. DeLay's improper trip to Korea. The Korea-U.S. Exchange Council was created to promote Hanwha Group Chairman Seung Youn Kim, according to the New York Times.

The Alexander Strategy Group was formed by Rep. DeLay's former Chief of Staff Ed Buckham, who also introduced Rep. DeLay to corporate lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Former DeLay aide Jim Ellis, who was indicted for money laundering, was a consultant to ASG. Former DeLay staffer Tony Rudy, former DeLay PAC director Karl Gallant, and Rep. DeLay's spouse, Christine DeLay, all worked for ASG.

The Campaign for America's Future last week launched a television and newspaper ad campaign to hold Rep. DeLay accountable, highlighting the controversy surrounding the House Majority Leader who is increasingly seen as a liability to his party.

http://www.usnewswire.com/

[Jo March]

1. Kick and hooray!

I've been emailing this out to everyone today! Glad to see it hitting the corporate media!!

[paineinthearse]

6. It is starting to hit the corporate media. but

...but note the source of this post. It is a press release from Campaign for America's Future.



For an excellent chronology of DeLay-related developments, go to http://www.ourfuture.org/issues_and_campaigns/accountablecongress/delay/index.cfm

[Jo March]

7. Yes but it wasn't there as of early this morning

There was all of the other stuff but not this.

I have been emailing to everyone - Progressive blogs, liberal blogs - anyone who I felt needed to read about it.

[montanacowboy]

2. So this LOW LEVEL STAFFER........

right..Darling - one of the K St Boys, thick into it with the Bugman who likely cooked up the Schiavo memo....

[cry baby]

4. I love the "low level staffer" thing they are putting out.

He's an attorney, fer krise sakes.

[cry baby]

3. Helllllooooooo Darling, my dear. May you be the downfall

of the republican party!:toast:

[paineinthearse]

5. CAF has a full-page ad in today's Moonie Times

http://www.ourfuture.org/docUploads/watimes_delay.pdf



& see related post - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1711106

Print a few dozen and put up in your neighborhood.

[paineinthearse]

8. From Kos

http://www.dailykos.com/

Memo memo memo
by kos
Thu Apr 7th, 2005 at 17:34:56 PDT

Campaign for America's Future digs into the personalities involved.

Darling worked for the Alexander Strategy Group, a Washington-based corporate lobbying firm heavily connected to Rep. DeLay. Darling's clients included Universal Bearing, Inc., a company owned by the Hanwha Group, which has direct ties to the foreign agent that paid for Rep. DeLay's improper trip to Korea. The Korea-U.S. Exchange Council was created to promote Hanwha Group Chairman Seung Youn Kim, according to the New York Times.
The Alexander Strategy Group was formed by Rep. DeLay's former Chief of Staff Ed Buckham, who also introduced Rep. DeLay to corporate lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Former DeLay aide Jim Ellis, who was indicted for money laundering, was a consultant to ASG. Former DeLay staffer Tony Rudy, former DeLay PAC director Karl Gallant, and Rep. DeLay's spouse, Christine DeLay, all worked for ASG.

And, Media Matters gives us the anatomy of a right-wing smear:

Despite a lack of evidence, several media sources have repeated conservative speculation and accusations that Democrats secretly authored a "talking points" memo that described the Terri Schiavo case as a "great political issue" for Senate Republicans. These baseless accusations, apparently hatched on right-wing blogs and in conservative media such as The American Spectator, were given credibility by The Washington Post and CNN's Inside Politics. But as recent reports indicate, Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) has admitted publicly that one of his aides is the true author of the memo.

MM tracks the entire smear campaign.

Finally, In the Agora wants me to note that they, indeed, retracted their erroneous assertion that a low-level Reid aide hatched the memo about a week ago.