Tom DeLay Is Out Of There

It's cryin time again . . .

and now the even more great news....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/politics/08alexander.html

gooder and gooder

I wonder how Rush Limbooger is gonna spin this? He has so tried to play the party line these last few days and the best he could come up with was "Democrats got money from Abramoff too"

Damn, it is sooooo sweet when a complete bag of pus corrupt scumbag gets nailed, isn't it? Amazing how good it feels.

I guess that's a sign of how rare it is.

Ding, dong the witch is dead!

Hmmmm...I wonder why none of the republican members of A2K have come forward to let their feelings be known about this development.

Maybe all the right-wing websites haven't put out talking points for them to regurgitate yet.

Yeah...it takes Fox a while to think up their stoopid slogans.

The freepers aren't happy, but they haven't come up with their talking points yet <or haven't announced them to the pleebs>.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1553679/posts



I was quite taken with ... I admire him more than ever now.

gopusa doesn't seem to have the heart for coverage of Delay ... they've chosen



as their lead. Understandable.

http://www.gopusa.com/news/

What's disturbing, they apparently believe in DeLay's innocence and the inherent evil of Democrats.

Don't forget schoolteachers, they hate them too.

Good illustration of cognitive dissonance theory.

edgar, that's one of the reasons I pop into sites like free republic and gopusa once in a while. it's useful to know what's going on in different camps.

i do the same thing here - reading blogs and sites for parties i wouldn't normally support.

They haven't updated the "defend delay" site since early December.

I used to go over and read up on both the Dem. and Con. undergound websites, they both made my head hurt.
Screaming loonies fom both ends of the spectrum.

Published this morning by the Houston Chronicle:






Jan. 14, 2006, 3:47PM
Houston Chronicle Survey of Registered Voters in the Texas 22nd Congressional District


Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Complete text of questions asked in the survey of registered voters in the 22nd Congressional District, in the order in which they were asked, along with the breakdown of responses.

Survey conducted by Robert M. Stein, Rice University and Richard Murray, University of Houston Center for Public Policy.

January 10-12, 2006
Number Interviewed: 560
Sampling Error Rate: Plus or minus 4 percentage points
Response Rate: 69 percent
Hello, I'm (name of interviewer) calling from University of Houston on behalf of the Houston Chronicle. We're conducting a survey of Texas residents to ask their opinions on a number of issues. May I speak with (name of voter


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3587479.html

My personal take: Don't count DeLay out until the last vote has been counted. His district is full of people who believe just the way he does, most will seek a reason to rationalize his betrayal of his job. - eb

Jan. 15, 2006, 12:16AM
SUPPORT FOR DeLAY DECREASES IN DIST. 22
Only half those who voted for him in '04 would do so again, poll finds


By KRISTEN MACK
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

A criminal indictment and continuing investigations have severely eroded support for U.S. Rep Tom DeLay in his district, most notably among Republicans who have voted for him before, according to a Houston Chronicle poll.

Only half of those who cast ballots for DeLay in 2004 said they will do so again. And while a fourth of the 2004 DeLay voters still aren't sure whom they will vote for this year, almost 20 percent have defected to other candidates.

Responding to the poll Saturday, DeLay spokeswoman Shannon Flaherty said the result is "contrary to the strong support we're seeing for Congressman DeLay throughout the district."

The telephone poll of 560 registered voters in the 22nd Congressional District was conducted Tuesday through Thursday amid perhaps the roughest period of DeLay's political career.

On Jan. 7, he abandoned his bid to reclaim the House majority leader post that he had to relinquish last year when he was indicted in Travis County on charges related to campaign fundraising for 2002 legislative races.

An unrelated federal investigation has touched DeLay and others in Congress. It centers on lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has a long history of ties to DeLay and other Republicans.

Even if heavy coverage of DeLay's problems last week caused some of the drop in support, DeLay has reason for concern when only half the people who voted for him in 2004 say they will again.

DeLay may be able to win back the undecided voters, but he starts with the disadvantage of a 60 percent unfavorable rating in the district he has represented for 20 years. Only 28 percent view him favorably, according to the poll.

That's barely half of the 50 percent favorable rating DeLay received in a poll conducted for the Chronicle last spring by Zogby International.

"I go a lot on the way somebody talks, and he doesn't give me warm and fuzzy feelings," said Robert Jones of Pearland, who has supported DeLay but rated him unfavorably in the Chronicle survey last week. Jones, who voted in the 2004 Republican primary and considers himself an independent, said he hasn't decided whom he will support this year.

According to the new poll, 38 percent have changed their opinion of DeLay in the past year. And of those, 91 percent view him less favorably.

Only about half of likely GOP primary voters now rate DeLay favorably, and only 39 percent are committed to voting for him in March.

When he last faced Republican primary opposition in 2002, he won 80 percent of the vote.

His opponent that year, lawyer Michael Fjetland, is one of three candidates challenging him for the GOP nomination March 7. The others are former schoolteacher Pat Baig and lawyer Tom Campbell.

So far, the lukewarm support for DeLay among likely primary voters is not benefiting his Republican opponents, who together poll less than 10 percent with the rest undecided.

"DeLay is benefited by a short campaign season because his challengers are unknown," Murray said.

There's no evidence that DeLay's dwindling support represents a tarnishing of GOP strength in the 22nd District.

Forty-two percent identify themselves as Republicans, 27 percent as Democrats and 23 percent as independents. Republican President Bush enjoys a 55 percent approval rating in the district.

Stein and Murray said DeLay is likely to win the Republican primary but not unscathed.

In the general election, he would face former U.S. Rep Nick Lampson, who is unopposed in the Democratic primary and polls highest among the probable November candidates. DeLay also may be challenged by former Republican Rep. Steve Stockman, who has filed as an independent. Stockman will need to petition for a place on the ballot.

If the general election were held today, DeLay would get 22 percent of the vote, Lampson 30 percent and Stockman 11 percent. The ballot also will include a Libertarian Party nominee.

"Any vote Stockman gets is going to come out of Tom DeLay's hide," Murray said. "DeLay's November fate depends on what happens in the real world. He has to be acquitted."

At least one poll respondent who voted for DeLay in 2004 agrees. Niehua Chow, a Houston chemical engineer, said he'll wait on the outcome of DeLay's trial before deciding whether to vote for him again.

"I'd have to wait and see how his trial comes out. If he's guilty, no, I won't vote for him," said Chow, who said he will vote for DeLay if he's cleared.

Others continue to back the congressman. "I haven't lost faith in him," said Republican Terrie Groeneman of Houston.

About a fourth polled say "partisan politics by the Democrats" was behind the investigations and indictment of DeLay, and that percentage soars to 78 percent among voters still supporting DeLay.

Overall, about a third blame DeLay's troubles on his own behavior, and a fourth blame "a culture of corruption in Washington."