ALSO VISIT

Under indictment for conspiracy in an alleged scheme to raise illegal campaign cash and conceal it through manipulation of his Political Action Committee, Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX), stepped aside earlier this week as House Majority Leader. Congressional rules require that he leave his post while facing indictment. He has been reprimanded by Congress three times already for "objectionable behavior", a euphemism for ethical violations which raise the much touted "appearance of impropriety".

He wasted no time, however, seeking to distract attention from his predicament by alleging that a vast array of liberal organizations have conspired to bring him down. It harkens to then first lady Hillary Clinton's assertion that "a vast right-wing conspiracy" was out to destroy her husband. Mr. Clinton certainly had his enemies, professional, partisan, ideological and some just rabid, and in fact there was a lot of organization among individuals and groups who were convinced that the nation needed nothing more than to remove him from office.

In the case of Mr. DeLay, his plight is not, however, political—it is a legal predicament, motivated thus far by evidence. It is true that Mr. DeLay has enemies, and a vast array of them, collected over many years of scorched-earth attack politics which earned him the nickname "The Hammer". It has been reported that he bullies not only his enemies, but also those from his own party who may differ on one issue or another with his particular view of the world.

But his enemies did not bring him to this crucible—he faces charges directly related to concrete actions of his own, to a knowing involvement in fundraising activities and the management of that money, and it is the judicial system which now has the opportunity to decide if this particular politico broke any laws or not.

The scheme in which DeLay is charged with participating directed an alleged $190,000 in corporate donations through DeLay's PAC, Texans for a Republican Majority (TRM), to the Republican National Committee. The RNC then returned a similar amount back to TRM, essentially "laundering" the donations and permitting illegal corporate funding of individual campaigns in Texas.

DeLay now says he will continue to raise funds and to impose his will as leader of his party, though without the benefit of that title. Various fellow Republicans are aligning against him. Connecticut Rep. Christopher Shays has said "We got elected basically by saying we would live by a higher moral standard, and I don't think recently we have" adding that he had been "uncomfortable" for some time with DeLay's methods.

Rep. David Dreier of California, Chairman of the powerful Rules Committee, and a possible replacement for DeLay, told Face the Nation that he believes DeLay "knows he's not going to run things". The party appears to be rethinking its allegiance to a leadership tainted by allegations of manipulative, unethical and criminal behavior.

Democrat Rahm Emanuel told Meet the Press yesterday that the Republican-controlled Congress is plagued by "a culture of corruption and cronyism". And last week, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, along with Rep. Henry Waxman, introduced legislation specifically designed to prohibit cronyism in handing out contracts for Katrina reconstruction (a move made necessary by a rapid and widespread "no-bid" process already resulting in tens of millions of dollars' worth of such suspect contracts). [For more: NYT]

Serious questions have arisen as to the methods used by Republican leaders in the House of Representatives to persuade members of their party to vote in favor of the Medicare prescription drug bill. Conservative columnist Robert Novak broke the story, in which Rep. Nick Smith of Michigan, a Republican who voted against the bill, charged that various colleagues and business interests offered large amounts of money to his son's congressional campaign in exchange for a yes vote. [Full Story]