The Real Story Behind the Attacks on Tom DeLay

NewsMax.com ^ | Thursday, April 7, 2005 | Wes Vernon

[Anita1]

After a steady drumbeat of leftist attacks on House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (aided and abetted by the media), you will suddenly read about push "polls," whose purpose will be to see how effective the organized smear job has been. And sure enough, the charts will show the wolf pack has done its job. DeLay's "public approval" ratings will point downward.

Unless ... conservatives fight back.

[Anita1]

This is the way the powers of the liberal establishment trashed Newt Gingrich. They would have done the same thing to DeLay long ago, except that DeLay has been more effective in selecting his fights and deciding when to speak out and when to work behind the scenes. Newt had to have an opinion on everything and share it with the world, day in and day out.

Since then, they've tried the same demonizing tactic on Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and President Bush himself. Those efforts flopped.

Now the liberal playbook – and you can be sure there is one – has decreed that the time has come to run down Tom DeLay. The straw that broke the proverbial camel's back, it seems, was his leadership in the congressional effort to save Terri Schiavo.

The majority leader has said he will ask the House Judiciary Committee to undertake a broad review of the courts' disgraceful handling of the Schiavo case.

He said that "the time has come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior" and that Congress should "look at an arrogant, out-of-control, unaccountable judiciary that thumbed their nose at Congress and the president."

Imagine that. The very idea that judges should be accountable to the elected representatives of the taxpayers who foot the bill for judges' salaries. What a bizarre idea. Why, it's an outrage!

Predictably, the howls from the wolf pack have already started.

First out of the gate was Senator Frank Lautenberg, a Democrat from New Jersey.

"Threats against specific federal judges are not only a serious crime, but also beneath a member of Congress," he thundered. (Translation: Here is my reasoned answer to your facts. Shut up.) The Garden State senator went on, "Your attempt to intimidate judges in America not only threatens our courts, but our fundamental democracy as well."

Democrats in the Senate have been calling President Bush's judicial nominees – sitting judges on lower federal courts or state courts – every name in the book. But of course, that's OK and the liberal media do not go out of their way to call attention to that "intimidation."

Given that leftist interests have been ramming through the courts of unelected judges anything they could not get through the democratic process of the elected lawmakers or executives answerable to the voters, why should anyone be surprised? After all, in their world of the double standard, "democracy" is defined as left-leaning judges inventing their own laws for the convenience of liberal politicians.

Senator Lautenberg has firsthand experience with that. In 2002, the New Jersey Supreme Court stepped in and, in violation of the plainly written New Jersey law, saw fit to put Mr. Lautenberg on the ballot after the Democratic candidate, the scandal-ridden Senate incumbent, Bob Torricelli, dropped out.

In the "get DeLay" hysteria, Senator Ted Kennedy chimed in, wringing his hands and saying that "at a time when emotions are running high, Mr. DeLay needs to make it clear [in criticizing judges] that he is not advocating any violence against anyone."

...Let us examine the people behind the anti-DeLay effort.

A group calling itself the Campaign for America's Future, which the Washington Post says is "backed by labor and other leaders," is featuring DeLay in television ads in at least four Republican House districts and in DeLay's suburban Houston district, dredging up the old discredited charges against the majority leader.

Who runs the Campaign for America's Future?

...Among the other groups active in the "get DeLay" movement is Ralph Nader's Public Citizen, whose Craig Holman attended a meeting of a coalition of liberal groups on Capitol Hill and was given the responsibility of finding a member of Congress to file a complaint against DeLay – according to the Chicago Tribune for June 15, 2004.

Ultimately, then-Rep. Chris Bell, a freshman Texas Democrat who lost his seat in Congress due to DeLay's success in a redistricting effort in the Lone Star State, did file a complaint against the majority leader. The move backfired. The House Ethics Committee in November found Bell in direct violation of House rules for his part in a premeditated partisan campaign to undermine the majority and the integrity of the House.

As DeLay was able to pronounce at a press conference November 19, Bell was found in violation of nine counts of rule violations and his complaint contained "inflammatory language, exaggerated charges, and serious misstatements of both fact and law."

Republicans are not sitting idly by while their House majority leader is trashed. According to The Hill newspaper for March 23, the House GOP issued research showing that the groups taking on DeLay are amply funded by billionaire George Soros – who spent millions trying to defeat President Bush last year – and that members of these groups' boards have contributed "tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates and political organizations and several of their staff members have previously worked for Democrats."

There's more – much more. And we intend to keep an eye on it. Meanwhile, you can help stem the tide of this partisan political/media/think tank hit job by reminding Republican congressmen from your state to stand firm for DeLay.

As Morton Blackwell puts it: "Please don't get bogged down answering the absurd, groundless attacks. The left can and will raise phony new issues faster than you can respond to the old ones. Congressman DeLay has fully and publicly dealt with these false or nit-picky issues."

Better to put the spotlight on his ill-motivated attackers.

Wes Vernon is a Washington-based writer and veteran broadcast journalist.

[goldstategop]

Let's put it in terms conservatives can readily grasp: We will hang together or we will all hang separately. The attack being mounted by the Left is not directed solely at DeLay; its directed against all conservatives. They want to humiliate and discredit us as much as they want to get rid of the House Majority Leader. That's why we should rally behind DeLay in the face of these politically motivated attacks on his position, effectiveness, and honor. Let's roll!

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[livius]

A GOP fundraiser called me tonight and I told them I wasn't giving any money until I saw some more unified action from the GOP in support of DeLay. I'm sick and tired of working to get candidates elected and then seeing the rest of the GOP stand back and disown them when the Dem "wolf pack" goes after them. What's the point, if we never support our own?

[yer gonna put yer eye out]

I've done the same thing when they've called for donations...
Between trashing Tom DeLay and ignoring the illegal immigration issue, the conservatives have proved themselves poor stewards of our confidence...I predict they, (and we), will pay a heavy price for their weak-kneed cave in to Soro's money machine...

[Coldwater Creek]

Finally a positive approach to the Delay trashing!!!!!!

[jazzlite]

I want to know where the ads are which respond to this travesty..How about running an ad which simply describes the groups making these ads against Delay. The instigators of this are well known to many Americans and should not be allowed to remain in the shadows. Go after "The Campaign for America's Future," (barf), backed by labor union leaders..Go after Ralph Nader's Public Citizen, whose man, Craig Holman, was used to meet with liberal groups on Capitol Hill for the purpose of finding a member of Congress to file a complaint against Delay..(according to the Chicago Tribune, June 15, 2004.) That was only last year. Evidently, one of Delay's political enemies, Chris Bell, did file a complaint against Delay which backfired because of Bell's undermining of House Ethics rules in an effort to "get" the majority leader. Why was he mad?..Well, a redistricting effort by Delay in Texas caused Bell to lose his seat in Congress. This should be placed in the ad..Then, George Soros and his "Shadow Party" with all it's tentacles and arms should be visible to the American people in such an ad. Mel Gibson, Swift Boat Vets, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Shawn Hannity, etc., etc. Spray this great nation with your courage and eloquence in this matter. Do not allow Delay to be the focus of charges so common to the whole Congressional body in Washington.

[Dante3]

bttt

[YaYa123]

YOWZA! This is the tactic I was trying so hard, and so ineptly, to describe yesterday! It worked so well on Terry Shiavo. It's working again on DeLay, and I might add, it's a work in progress, on the Pope's legacy as well.


The MSM creates these bogus polls, "sells" them to the public, then calls it "news".

You'd think our side would know by now how to defend against this tactic. (heavy sigh)

[StonyBurk]

Exactly -- Democratic Politicians are as predictable in their modusoperendi -as Islamic Terrorists are in theirs.
The attacks on DeLay as shameful and as noisy as they are
Become a problem Only when one gives them credit. On the
surface one might be misled by what is reported of Rick Santorum's purported abandonment of DeLay.IMO Santorum
believes the best way to defeat the rumor mongers is shed light. Shays is a RINO and everyone knows his heart is
as corrupt as any Democrat/Liberal.But it's all about POWER
Securing political power-and the destruction of opposing power.If only our mere politicians would reclaim the POWER of Christian Truth.

[CyberAnt]

Exactly!

I've talked to several - and I have a survey from Senator Dole - and she's going to get an earful. I'm going to type up a letter to her and include it with the survey - AND NO MONEY.

And .. I've been surprised to have the callers agree with me. We've given our money and our volunteer time to get people elected and then what do they do - run and hide from the dems - instead of standing together. Disgusting.

I'm hoping this attack on DeLay will force the House members to learn how to stick together.

[Graymatter]

It's deplorable, but from the liberals it's expected. What's more offensive here is the unusually obvious signal from the Right, that DeLay will not have an energetic team of champions defending him. Already Dick Cheney and Bill Frist, to name just two, have indicated that Tom DeLay is not exactly a blood brother to them. They have sniffed at him and edged away. The Left is only encouraged thereby.

[SuzanneC]

The democrat party has absolutely no problem telling its lies and then repeating them over and over again.

If Republicans don't start acting like the majority party pretty soon, we will lose our advantage forever.

I don't understand why we keep thinking we have to be the 'nice' guy. Think Charlie Brown (Republicans) and Lucy (the dems) with the football. Will we never learn?

[roses of sharon]

The right has always been ruled by the NY elite editorial pages, how else did the left take over our media, education, our culture and Hollywood, for the last 50 years.

As I have warned for a decade, and even after this election, we on the right have never known how to fight.

Our reps in DC, as with some "freepers" still govern their actions according to what NY leftists want.

And all the while they laugh at us during lunch at Tavern on the Green.