Posted on 03/06/2006 3:57:05 PM PST by AZRepublican
Tomorrow’s Republican primary in Texas’ 22nd Congressional District will test how much damage has been inflicted on former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay by a series of legal and ethics controversies. And lawyer Tom Campbell has emerged as the strongest of three Republican challengers in the district that includes parts of Houston and its suburbs.
Campbell, who met with CQPolitics.com senior reporter Greg Giroux in Washington on Feb. 8, has some experience in the nation’s capital, as a former counsel to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
He does not claim any major policy differences with the activist conservative agenda DeLay has pressed since he was first elected to Congress in 1984. Campbell argues instead that ethical questions — and the kind of hardball partisan tactics that long made DeLay a powerful force in Washington politics — have now rendered him ineffective. He says it is time to replace him with a new member who is free of that kind of political baggage.
Campbell contends that DeLay’s problems would cause him to lose the general election in the 22nd District, which normally has a solidly Republican lean, in part because Democrats have made him the embodiment of a “culture of corruption” that they accuse the Republican congressional majority of fomenting. Campbell said that, in turn, could contribute to the GOP losing its 12-year control of the House.
Here are excerpts from the interview:
(Excerpt) Read more at cqpolitics.com ...
Newsflash to all you DeLay worshippers: Campbell ain't no RINO.
Campbell must know he is in trouble in the primary if he uses this last minute tactic to try to win. I don't live in Texas but do hope that Delay pounds Campbell like a drum tomorrow for that statement.
I don't think DeLay would stoop to such a scum based level.
BTW I hope Campbell wins.
What kind of last minute tactic are you talking about anyway?
CQ: Is DeLay a constant presence in the district? Do you see him a lot more?
Campbell: You see him a lot more these days. He’s talking about what he’s done. And the reality is he’s not going to be able to do much. It’s all past tense — what’s he done. The reality is that anything that Tom DeLay is associated with now is going to be scrutinized in a way that other things are not.
First of all, he can’t hold the seat. ... The second thing is, he is going to cost the Republican Party seats in Congress, and he could cost us the majority.
The fact is, the Democrats intend to run against a ‘culture of corruption.’ They don’t have any of their own great ideas ... So what they’re going to run against is culture of corruption, and the poster child for culture of corruption, rightfully or wrongfully, is Tom DeLay. ...
That culture of corruption — we can take that issue away from them by conducting our own reform and cleaning our own house in March. And then the final thing is, he’s no longer going to be effective ... I think DeLay’s days as a Washington power broker are over.
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I don't care if he's to the right of Barry Goldwater. This whole business disgusts me, and it certainly proves that he is an opportunist. Sorry, whatever his reasons may be, he is working toward the same end as the DNC.
This part of the statement by Campbell sounds to me like something that a candidate, who thinks he is going to lose, would make. Some Republican he is to lend validity to the false accusations of Democrats.
Amen to that!
I was speaking of the rank and file, not just the elected Congressmen. But your point is well taken.
If I haven't heard anything about Delay using the Mormon card. Should Campbell win the primary, you can bet Lampson will create fear among the local evangelicals that the "Cult of Mormonism" is out to get them.
DeLay isn't a God in my book. He's no better than anyone else. He can be replaced at not much cost. The House will function just fine without him there.
I wouldn't doubt it.
Where in the article does it mention Tom Delay?
Apparently you are assuming that Delay is guilty of the charges that Prosecutor Earle brought against him even before he goes to trial. Delay hasn't been convicted of anything and most likely will not be. That whole article was about Cunningham who was convicted and sentenced.
Did not post that Delay was the symbol of everything conservative or that he was ...
It's apparent that you dislike Delay and that Campbell is your choice of candidates. So be it. Goodluck at the polls tomorrow. We will see what the majority of voters think by the results tomorrow night.
I think thats best way. Stop arguing over this and see who wins. I won't complain either way. It is what it is. Up to the voters.
Why did you pick Cynthia Sinatra over Ron Paul?
I would have no objections to someone running against Delay in an ordinary election under ordinary circumstances. I do have an objection to an opportunist jumping in against him after he has been demonized by the media and falsely accused by a corrupt prosecutor.
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