Weekly Standard's Take on the Delay Resignation

Weekly Standard

TOM DELAY wants you to know that his decision to stand down for reelection and resign from Congress by summer has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the investigation into the business practices of Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist who pleaded guilty to corruption, bribery, and wire fraud charges (among others) in January and who was sentenced to almost six years in prison (for starters) last week.

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Instead, DeLay explained, his decision to bow out of American politics--an arena in which he was an unparalleled master as House majority whip and leader from 1995 to 2005--is more about avoiding a nasty campaign against former Democratic congressman Nick Lampson. "This had become a referendum on me," DeLay said, "so it's better for me to step aside and let it be a referendum on ideas, Republican values, and what's important for this district."

This, even though his decision comes about 72 hours after his former deputy chief of staff, Tony Rudy, pleaded guilty to corruption and bribery charges in connection with the Abramoff probe. This, even though DeLay personally made his debut in the numerous court filings re: Abramoff as "Representative #2" in the criminal information filed as part of Rudy's plea deal. This, even though his former press secretary, Michael Scanlon, pleaded guilty to related charges last November. This, even though his former chief of staff, Ed Buckham, is also under close scrutiny in the Department of Justice's public corruption investigation. And this, even though DeLay's last "resignation," when he told Republicans he would not seek to reclaim his majority leader post, came swiftly on the heels of Abramoff's January plea.

Here's what's puzzling: If DeLay's decision has nothing to do with the Abramoff investigation, shouldn't he have resigned from Congress earlier? Because other than Rudy's deal, not much has changed in DeLay's political life since October, when he was indicted in Texas on money laundering charges, and January, when he returned to backbencher status. In fact, less than a month ago DeLay won an overwhelming primary victory (60 percent to 30 percent) over Republican lawyer Tom Campbell, who drew attention to the former majority leader's ethics record. Shouldn't have that signaled to DeLay that he had a fighting chance against Nick Lampson, the Democratic candidate for Congress in Texas's 22nd District?