Tancredo: Delay Exit [From House Leadership] Not a Bad Idea

Rep. Tom Tancredo said it is 'probably not the worst idea' for embattled House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to step down while he deals with ethics allegiations.

Stepping into a swirling Washington controversy, the Littleton Republican said he doesn't think the current accusations against DeLay amount to much. But Tancredo said that from a personal perspective, DeLay has handled the ethics issue 'stupidly.'

'I don't think we should try and oust him,' he said in an interview Thursday at the Capitol.

'Right now, I would not encourage him to leave. If he chose to resign as majority leader until these matters are resolved, that's probably not the worst idea.'

Tancredo would be the first fellow conservative to come close to such a suggestion, although he and the poweful Texas are not close political allies.

Meanwhile, 10 former GOP members of Congress, including one from Colorado, joined in a letter to house leadership to say that they believe ethics rules were revised this year in an effort to protect DeLay from investigation and that the changes must be reversed to restore 'confidence in the people's House.'

Listen, I agree he should have kept his mouth shut, especially as he knows personally how the media loves to go after conservatives (as they have eagerly with him), and since Delay hasn't been too bad on immigration.

But lets not lump Tancredo with genuine RINO's who often pull this kind of thing. Tancredo has a lifetime rating of 98 (out of 100) from the American Conservative Union's ratings. He has backed the President on his tax cuts, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has been with the conservatives and Delay on almost everything because he is a true conservative.

He screwed up here, no doubt, and as I said the fact that he knows as well as anyone how the media works makes it even more inexplicable. But I think if he weren't already known for his battles with the Bush administration over immigration policy then this comment wouldn't have raised many eyebrows. Some in the party already despise him for those immigration battles, and as such are eager to jump on him when he does mess up.

Aetius: "But lets not lump Tancredo with genuine RINO's who often pull this kind of thing."

Let's look at the big picture for a moment. DeLay took a big, bold move taking on the judiciary. If anyone deserves support right now, it's him. If we abondon DeLay, we put a damper on all courage by conservative leaders in the future. If Tan-Creepo gets away with this stunt, if it's forgotten, then other congressmen will pull worse BS in the future, eating the carcasses of anyone who dares challenge the libs on 'taboo' matters.

If we make an example of Tan-Creepo, then they will know better. The Old Media always dangles carrots to people like TanCreepo. And it keeps conservative leaders in fear and panic. We MUST break that tactic.

And borders can continue to push ahead without Tan-Creepo.

Your infantile use of "Tan-Creepo" makes me think that you had it in for Tancredo long before he made this Delay statement.

As to Delay challenging the judiciary: I do applaud him for it, and I do think that part of the reason for the media's latest attacks on him are due to him speaking up against the imperial courts. Delay's comments on the matter are a good first step, but I'll believe the GOP will offer a true challenge to the judiciary when pigs fly. If the media is going to react like this to a mild rebuke of the courts, then the GOP/Conservatives should just ready themselves to cross the Rubicon on some future, insane, and unjustified SCOTUS ruling (like the inevitable nationwide imposition of gay marriage/civil unions) and just defy the Sup Court, refuse to enforce the decision (and fight the President too if they have too in this regard) and render it void; and possibly bring on a much needed Constitutional showdown/crisis.

As to the Border issue advancing w/o Tancredo: Well its much more than the border, but I seriously doubt that there will be any real conservative immigration reform anytime soon no matter who is leading the charge. It could be argued that Tancredo has become a lighting rod himself, and should step aside as spokesman for the effort in favor of a less polarizing figure, but of course this is to deny that the only reason he sticks out from the bunch and only reason he has become controversial is because he has dared give voice to popular discontent over immigration policy. Any Republican doing what he has done will get the same demagogic treatment from the press and professional grievance/victim industry.

I hope Delay survives (but who knows how long he would anyway with his district trending demographically to the Dems) , and I hope that when the Dems try to make corruption a theme in next year's elections that the GOP will be ready to respond in kind by pointing out all of the questionable actions of the Dems. I have my doubts that they will, however, as I've seen or heard very little of them busting the hypocrisy of Senators like Kennedy, Leahy, and Salazar for stating in the past that judicial nominees should get full up or down votes (and Salazar made the pledge as part of his closely contested and unfortunately successful bid for office last year), but who now sing a different tune with a Republican in the White House.

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