The Canary Just Slumped Over--Updated!DeLay the Hammer
to step down.
Rep. Tom DeLay, whose iron hold on the House Republicans melted as a lobbying corruption scandal engulfed the Capitol, told TIME that he will not seek reelection and will leave Congress within months. Taking defiant swipes at "the left" and the press, he said he feels "liberated" and vowed to pursue an aggressive speaking and organizing campaign aimed at promoting foster care, Republican candidates and a closer connection between religion and government.There's no way to sugar-coat this. If DeLay's stepping down it's gotta be because his internal polling is looking bad, and that probably means we Republicans are in big trouble elsewhere. Hugh Hewitt predicted on the radio last night that the GOP will lose both the House and the Senate.
John McIntyre says DeLay's retirement may help the
Republicans keep his seat, and a few others.
Don Surber points to a
top DeLay aide's recent plea bargain and speculates that the step down is because of legal concerns, not political ones.
Kos
isn't celebrating; he points out that DeLay is using a legal maneuver to make sure that the Republicans can replace him on the ballot.
Hugh points out that the six seats the
Republicans picked up in Texas when DeLay got the redistricting done may just be the margin of victory in November.
Okay, so maybe my spot analysis was off. There is certainly some high-fiving going on in the
Left-Wing blogosphere, but not much doom and gloom on our side.
Update: If you want to know why the Democrats are unable to capitalize on the Republicans' apparent disarray, check out the email I receieved this morning from Democracy for America:
Democracy for America has dogged DeLay for years. With TV commercials and billboards, at rallies and online, DFA has been on the front lines of the battle to clean up Congress. But we didn't think DeLay would "cut and run" like he did.
If he did nothing wrong -- as he claims -- then Tom DeLay shouldn't be afraid of a re-election campaign in a district he drew for himself. But he is quitting by mid-June.
Let's help send Tom DeLay the rubber chicken award he so richly deserves:
http://contribute.democracyforamerica.com
For every $50 Democracy for America raises today, we'll send Tom DeLay an authentic rubber chicken for his mantle. It'll be our goodbye present.
Yep, a rubber chicken.
