Radio Ads Target Delay and His Friends

WASHINGTON - MoveOn.org, a liberal political action group, has targeted seven vulnerable GOP House members by running radio ads in their districts urging them to remove Tom DeLay as majority leader because of alleged ethics violations.

The spots, which begin airing today and will run for a week, are an effort by the well-funded Democratic group to make DeLay and his ethical problems a defining issue in the 2006 elections.

"We are making a point that there will be a political price to pay for the Republican majority if they don't get rid of DeLay," said Tom Matzzie, the Washington director of the MoveOn PAC.

Matzzie said his group placed the $150,000 ad buy in six competitive congressional districts as well as in the district of Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Pa., who sits on the House Ethics Committee.