Tom DeLay deathwatch

[Tricky]

Dagnabbit! I was planning to start this thread several days ago, now it looks like I'm just stealing the idea from Garry Trudeau.

(here's the link)

I wanted to start a sort of "Sylvia's Clock" thing, but don't have the skills to do it.

My own prediction is that he will last another week or so. Of course, he will only step down from the House Majority leader position and will still have plenty of clout as a fundraiser. The real test will come next year to see if my neighbors have finally had enough of this slimeball. I'm gonna reserve judgement on that one, because I cannot fathom why they've kept him in this long, so I obviously don't have my finger on the pulse of my fellow Houstonians.

I guess the only really sad thing is that this is happening so far away from election time that few will remember it when the time comes to vote.

 

[Tony]

Do the people of Sugarland really like him? Or does he get elected just because of his familiarity?

 

[Tricky]

Do the people of Sugarland really like him? Or does he get elected just because of his familiarity?

Some of them really like him. Sugarland is a very wealthy, very Baptist hotbed of conservativism. Actually, most there either love him or hate him, but until now, the "lovers" have had the majority. We'll see now.

But, like so many politicians, he benefits a lot from name recognition and from the fact that staying in Congress for a long time gives you a lot of power, so some people will hold their nose and vote for him simply because he brings money to the district. Houstonians in general probably wouldn't elect him, since he tried to torpedo the light rail money for the city.

 

[Tony]

Some of them really like him. Sugarland is a very wealthy, very Baptist hotbed of conservativism. Actually, most there either love him or hate him, but until now, the "lovers" have had the majority. We'll see now.

If you were a betting man. How much would you stake in him not being re-elected?

Houstonians in general probably wouldn't elect him, since he tried to torpedo the light rail money for the city.

Tried? Isn't he still trying to torpedo Fed funds for the city's light rail?

 

[Tricky]

If you were a betting man. How much would you stake in him not being re-elected?

I'm not a betting man, but if I were, I'd still give him a 50-50 chance. A lot of his staunch defenders will see this as a hatchet job, and in a way it is. However, DeLay gave them the hatchet that they're using on him.

I'd say a better bet (maybe 75-25) is that he won't even run next time, having been disgraced. He'll make some parting shot and "retire" to private practice and collect all the cash for the "favors" he has done over the years. Maybe he'll even become a lobbyist. He certainly knows the ropes.

Tried? Isn't he still trying to torpedo Fed funds for the city's light rail?

Well, possibly. It isn't much of an issue right at the moment. And it depends on who is giving him money at the time. He was pocketing big bucks from the rabid anti-rail folks in Houston for his opposition to the downtown rail. It remains to be seen if they will still want to bankroll him. One thing you can be sure of with DeLay; Anything he does is based on money. I do not believe he has a shred of ethics. Recall that before he was railing about the "murderers" of Terry Schiavo, he had signed the affidavit to have the plug pulled on his own terminally ill father. Oh, but that's different.

 

[Ladewig]

I'd say a better bet (maybe 75-25) is that he won't even run next time, having been disgraced. He'll make some parting shot and "retire" to private practice and collect all the cash for the "favors" he has done over the years. Maybe he'll even become a lobbyist. He certainly knows the ropes.

What a bizarre speculation. What ever makes you think that Tom DeLay feels any disgrace whatsoever? The man was admonished three times last year by unanimous votes of the ethics committee and his response was to remove the Republicans who voted against him and replace some of them with representatives that donated funds to DeLay's legal defense fund.

He believes is is being targeted and persecuted. He does not believe he has done anything wrong.

I'd say there is perhaps a one in eight chance of the party talking him out of running, but there is no chance whatsoever of DeLay deciding on his own to not run again.

 

[Mephisto]

Not Again!

I just hope that when he does die, his funeral doesn't last as long as the Pope's or Ronald Reagan's.

 

[Tricky]

What a bizarre speculation. What ever makes you think that Tom DeLay feels any disgrace whatsoever? The man was admonished three times last year by unanimous votes of the ethics committee and his response was to remove the Republicans who voted against him and replace some of them with representatives that donated funds to DeLay's legal defense fund.

He believes is is being targeted and persecuted. He does not believe he has done anything wrong.

I'd say there is perhaps a one in eight chance of the party talking him out of running, but there is no chance whatsoever of DeLay deciding on his own to not run again.

While I agree that DeLay has absolutely no shame, I will have to admit that he is no dummy. If he sees the tide going against him, he may opt to step down "for the good of the country". He is perfectly capable of being very influential and of raking in lots of money even without political office.

I am not sure he even has a concept of right and wrong. I think he believes there are only winners and losers.

 

[RandFan]

While I agree that DeLay has absolutely no shame, I will have to admit that he is no dummy.

Inteligence is a relative thing. Yes, in some ways he is no dummy. But then in some ways Dan Quayle was no dummy.

 

[Regnad Kcin]

My own prediction is that he will last another week or so...

Hmm, I don't get that sense at all. My guess is that he'll continue to play the victim card for valuable prizes, surviving to play Wheel of Misfortune for many, many more weeks.

 

[varwoche]

Hmm, I don't get that sense at all. My guess is that he'll continue to play the victim card for valuable prizes, surviving to play Wheel of Misfortune for many, many more weeks.

Let's hope so.

 

[CBL4]

My guess is he will bull through for the next 6 months and see if the furore dies down. Since there are not any elections for 1 1/2 years, he will probably get away with it.

CBL

 

[Ladewig]

My guess is he will bull through for the next 6 months and see if the furore dies down. Since there are not any elections for 1 1/2 years, he will probably get away with it.

CBL

Unless he gets indicted, tried, and convicted for something.

Tom DeLay in a Texas prison [Homer] Mmmmmmm [/Homer].

 

[DaChew]

My prediction: He's not going anywhere.

Reason: He has done nothing that dozens of other Sens and Reps on both sides of the aisle have done. They know that if Delay goes, they're going to be got too.

 

[a_unique_person]

Dagnabbit! I was planning to start this thread several days ago, now it looks like I'm just stealing the idea from Garry Trudeau.

(here's the link)

I wanted to start a sort of "Sylvia's Clock" thing, but don't have the skills to do it.

My own prediction is that he will last another week or so. Of course, he will only step down from the House Majority leader position and will still have plenty of clout as a fundraiser. The real test will come next year to see if my neighbors have finally had enough of this slimeball. I'm gonna reserve judgement on that one, because I cannot fathom why they've kept him in this long, so I obviously don't have my finger on the pulse of my fellow Houstonians.

I guess the only really sad thing is that this is happening so far away from election time that few will remember it when the time comes to vote.

So where is this coming from?