[Tom] Lay de Dominos

Sorry for the polysemic title to this post but it fits the gyrations through which this story will go before it meets its rather sordid end.

With House Majority leader Tom Delay's indictment on corruption charges, are we beginning to see the falling dominos of one of the most corrupt, deceitful, lying political administrations in America?

First de Lay for corruption, then either Rove or a patsy in the President's inner sanctum indicted over the Plame affair, then Cheney for links to corrupt Halliburton contracts, and finally Bush himself for lies to Congress over the "War on Terror."

Bush's approval ratings are plummeting below 40 percent--by the time he leaves office, and once the corruption becomes widely known, I anticipate his approval rating to be in the teens.

Against those who argue that this is politically motivated by a fanatical, Democratic Texas District Attorney, remember that he has indicted only 4 Reps while indicting 14 Dems. Sounds fair-handed to me.

Also note: To bring the indictment, the DA needed an insider to finger DeLay, otherwise the charge could never have been made. That he did bring the chrages probably means that he has someone who put DeLay in a place/time and related circumstances.

Delay's troubles may only be starting, however. According to this report, he is under investigation in another case involving "super-lobbyist" Jack Abramoff and millions of dollars.

On the other hand, maybe it will serve the Democratic Party if Delay does not go quietly into that good night. As this Slate.com article shows, Delay's political extermination tactics fill the bill for Democrats to portray the Reps as the sleazy, money-grubbing, suck-up-to-the-rich party they are.

Also note: Even Bush dislikes the [ex]Terminator. Note his comments on Delay's attempt to help the rich "on the backs of the poor."

Stay tuned for further developments...

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DeLay Indictment May Be Overshadowed by Looming Abramoff Probe

Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Representative Tom DeLay, the highest-ranking U.S. House leader ever to face criminal charges, called his indictment yesterday ``one of the weakest, most baseless'' in American history. Even if he's right, bigger legal battles may lie ahead.

The larger legal challenge for DeLay may center on a task force led by the U.S. Justice Department that's investigating Jack Abramoff, the indicted lobbyist who boasted of his relationship with DeLay.

Even as DeLay faces the charge in Texas state court in connection with corporate donations that allegedly were used to help fund the Republican takeover of the state legislature in 2002, ``he is inevitably also going to be under investigation by federal prosecutors'' in the Abramoff matter, said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a Washington watchdog group that has criticized DeLay. ......

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