Monday, January 16, 2006
Tom Delay Would Lose A Reelection Bid
How far the once mighty hammer has fallen:
So it seems the battle Delay waged the last few months to regain his House majoity leader post may have been misguided.
Perhaps Delay should have been working more closely on shoring up his poll numbers at home and getting reelected.
He's got a rough reelection road ahead of him even if he manages to squirm out of the Texas indictment and avoid getting frog-marched in the Abramoff scandal.
Not that I think he's getting out of the Abramoff scandal without an indictment.
And remember, nine justices on the Texas Court of Appeals, all Republicans, refused to throw out the corruption indictment brought by Texas DA Ronnie Earle.
It should be a good year for people who think Tom Delay embodies nearly all that is wrong with politics today.
In the wake of Rep. Tom DeLay's (R-Texas) permanent resignation as House majority leader, a new poll shows that the Texan faces several major challenges in his campaign for a 12th term.
The negative coverage of lobbyist Jack Abramoff -- and his ties to DeLay and his aides -- have clearly had a negative effect on the Texan's image in the eyes of voters, according to the survey, which was commissioned by the Houston Chronicle. Just 28 percent of those tested had either a "very" or "somewhat" favorable opinion of DeLay, while 60 percent had a "very" or "somewhat" unfavorable opinion.
Former Rep. Nick Lampson (D) led DeLay 30 percent to 22 percent in a hypothetical general election matchup. Former Republican Rep. Steve Stockman, who is running as an independent, received 11 percent. When voters leaning toward one of the candidates are pushed to make a decision, Lampson received 32 percent, DeLay 25 percent and Stockman 14 percent.
Perhaps most damning for DeLay is the finding that 47 percent said he should "withdraw as a candidate" for the 22nd district; 40 percent of respondents rejected that notion. That response is all the more troublesome when one considers the poll's sample, which included 42 percent self-identifying Republicans compared to 27 percent Democrats and 23 percent independents.
So it seems the battle Delay waged the last few months to regain his House majoity leader post may have been misguided.
Perhaps Delay should have been working more closely on shoring up his poll numbers at home and getting reelected.
He's got a rough reelection road ahead of him even if he manages to squirm out of the Texas indictment and avoid getting frog-marched in the Abramoff scandal.
Not that I think he's getting out of the Abramoff scandal without an indictment.
And remember, nine justices on the Texas Court of Appeals, all Republicans, refused to throw out the corruption indictment brought by Texas DA Ronnie Earle.
It should be a good year for people who think Tom Delay embodies nearly all that is wrong with politics today.
