Tom DeLay Indicted

[Pangloss]

Here's a link to an article at Reuters for those who missed it:

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-09-28T191517Z_01_YUE863422_RTRUKOC_0_UK-DELAY.xml

 

DeLay is considered the #2 Republican in congress. The position is party-only, not a constitutional one, and not in the succession of power. Basically he rallies other Republicans to whatever the cause of the day happens to be. House ethics rules require the person in that position to step down when indicted.

 

He will, of course, get his day in court. If convicted, he could face a couple of years in the slammer.

 

My personal opinion on it is that DeLay is a representative of the religious right wing of American politics, and as such, good riddance. I believe in innocent until proven guilty, and I reserve judgement and will keep an open mind about whether he is in fact guilty of the charges, but I'm hopeful that this means that he's on his way out the door. This is the kind of Republican that makes conservatives look bad, opposing any gay rights, forcing all children to pray in school, leading the federal intrusion to keep Terri Schiavo alive, and demonizing atheists and non-christians at every opportunity. All the while performing the worst kind of back-room politics.

 

Too bad he's just one of many examples.

[Douglas]

opposing any gay rights,

In what way has Delay opposed gay rights?

[Chumley]

forcing all children to pray in school,

 

When did Delay force children to pray in school?

[Pangloss]

I was speaking more about the general side of politics he represents rather than any specific actions. Obviously no politician is going to come out and say that they oppose any rights for gay people, or that they would force children to pray whether they wanted to or not. But that is, in my opinion, the position of the religious right wing that DeLay most closely represents.

 

Sadly, it may be too soon to count the chicken here. I was just watching a story on the subject which pointed out several things:

 

- The indictment is based on the notion that corporations paid the Republican Party (in Texas), which then wrote checks to various campaigns. Since money comes into the party from many sources, it'll be hard to prove where it all went.

 

- The only evidence listed in the indictment was a check written to the party.

 

- The hints of bias on the part of the prosecutor are pretty strong. He first talked about this case in front of a Democratic party fundraised (idiot).

 

- He's actually famous for stuff like this. His most "prestigious" prosecution like this before was against Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, which was thrown out the moment it hit the judge's desk.

 

I'd love to see DeLay go down in flames, but at the moment it's starting to look like this was just a political move to shake things up a bit in the House.

[Douglas]

but at the moment it's starting to look like this was just a political move to shake things up a bit in the House.

We'll see. Delay claims he's being rail-roaded, but James Traficant claimed the same thing till they marched him off to jail.

[Pangloss]

We'll see. Delay claims he's being rail-roaded, but James Traficant claimed the same thing till they marched him off to jail.

 

Yah, too soon to say.

 

I'm pondering whether to post something on the subject of the SunCruz/Abramoff connection, if you guys are interested. That's a whole fascinating story in itself.

[Douglas]

Yah' date=' too soon to say.

 

I'm pondering whether to post something on the subject of the SunCruz/Abramoff connection, if you guys are interested. That's a whole fascinating story in itself.[/quote']I doubt that many people outside of Florida know much about the Abramoff/Kidan connection, However, since there was money passed from Abramoff to the two Texans....Bush and Delay, it may be of interest to the Bush bashers as well as the bush believers.

 

I'd say, bring it on, you're the most knowledgable in the politics forum, and I'm always interested in tidbits.

[Pangloss]

The SunCruz case has been fascinating. It seems unlikely to me that DeLay was involved, but it's an interesting angle that may get more play in the political arena before this story is done.

 

The SunCruz story reads like a Carl Hiaasen or Elmore Leonard novel. In a nutshell, SunCruz is a casino boat company, which was founded by an immigrant named Gus Boulis, who was shot to death under unusual circumstances in 2001. The first boat's Fort Lauderdale berthing location has always been controversial, because it's a HUGE catamaran that pulls up right alongside a quiet residential area, which just annoys the local residents to no end. Picture thousands of drunk, broke passengers screaming out of the parking lot at four in the morning -- every morning. We know a family that lives down the street from it, and they hate the boat with a passion. Much of the speculation about Boulis' murder over the past couple years has centered around that angle. But there were always hints as well about a possible business connection, which seemed to be confirmed when these arrests happened a couple of days ago.

 

Apparently at the same time that Boulis was having to deal with irate locals, he got involved with speculators who wanted to buy him out. This is where Abramoff (one of the speculators) comes in. Abramoff is a former movie writer and producer who once made a really bad action movie called "Red Scorpion", which starred Dolph Lundgren. Naturally he went on to become a major political operative. (cof) He was a big money raiser not only for DeLay, but also for George Bush -- a serious player.

 

Anyway, they allegedly faked a wire transfer in order to convince Boulis that they could afford to buy the company. It worked, Boulis sold the company to them, and he was murdered less than a year later. The speculation is that Boulis figured out he'd been hoodwinked and threatened to try to get the company back, so Abramoff and Kidan took him out.

 

It gets even stranger -- I've just scratched the surface here. There are so many subplots and sub-stories to this one that we could talk about it for a week and still not cover it all. It's truly bizarre. I haven't even mentioned the involvement of the immigration department, or the attempts to sink the boat. (No, really.)

 

Now is it just me, or does this have a "Get Shorty" or "Striptease" kind of feel to it? Every time I read about this in the news I just shake my head in wonder. Mark my words -- you will see all of this on the big screen some day.

 

BTW, the boat itself is practically right down the street from me, and I also have two friends who worked the SunCruz boats. Lost and forgotten amidst all the hoopla are all the people who lost their jobs when the company went under earlier this year, in part because of all the various controversies. Sometimes you just want to shake people and ask them what they were thinking.

[Douglas]

It's interesting about the sleazy side of politics, kind've reminds me of the Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Mayor Daly, Mafia heist and rigging of the 1960 presidential election in Chicago town.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a mini series on the Suncruz/Boulis/Abramoff connection.

 

Thanks for the info..............