Democrats: No Further DeLay - After redistricting loss, Lampson may make a run at House leader

Dallas Morning News ^ | April 10, 2005 | TODD J. GILLMAN

[anymouse]

In the latest sign of fallout from redistricting, Nick Lampson – one of the Texas Democrats who lost his congressional seat last fall – says he's seriously considering a run against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

And he's not alone. Democrats are increasingly confident that a strong, well-funded candidate could give Mr. DeLay at least a scare, as ethics controversies mount for the Sugar Land Republican.

"It would not be a fun effort. It would be very hard. It would be very ugly. It would require raising an awful lot of money," Mr. Lampson said last week. "But it's clear that his actions have changed my politics. He took my district away from me, and he took a voice away from the citizens of my community."

Mr. Lampson's Beaumont-based district was overhauled as part of the DeLay-led push to win several more Republican seats. Although Mr. Lampson was trounced by Republican Ted Poe, a former judge in Houston, in his bid for a fifth term, he said his potential bid would be not for revenge but to let voters vent their feelings about Mr. DeLay.

Before redistricting, Democrats held 17 of the state's 32 House seats. Now they hold 11, though many hope to win one back: Mr. DeLay's.

Three of the congressman's associates are under indictment in Austin. The House ethics committee admonished him three times last fall. And he's suffered a barrage of bad press and political attacks in recent weeks over his fund-raising tactics and overseas travel, prompting conservative allies to strategize ways to avert a politically lethal frenzy.

A recent Houston Chronicle/Zogby International poll found Mr. DeLay's support slipping back home. About half of the voters surveyed in his district, which runs from Galveston County to Houston's western suburbs, said they would vote for someone else. And most disapproved of his combative approach to the Terri Schiavo feeding-tube dispute.

GOP officials say they're unconcerned.

"It's a rock-solid Republican district," said Carl Forti, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, adding that Mr. Lampson couldn't win even his own district. "I don't see him getting much traction."

DeLay spokeswoman Shannon Flaherty echoed that.

"Congressman DeLay's common-sense conservative principles have won the support of his Republican district for 20 years," she said. "Voters know when it comes to the issues they care about ... Tom DeLay delivers for the people of the 22nd District."

The closest call came last fall, when lawyer Richard Morrison, an unknown Democrat, held Mr. DeLay to 55 percent of the vote – about 10 points lower than other Republicans' performance in the district.

Mr. Morrison plans to run again, and Mr. Lampson said he deserves another shot.

"He took him on when it wasn't cool, and now it's cool," said Mr. Lampson, who has been working since his defeat as a consultant to a company that distributes antibiotic lotion, and to another firm that turns soybean oil into diesel fuel.

Houston City Council member Gordon Quan is also considering a race. And some Democrats have encouraged a run by one-term Houston Congressman Chris Bell, who lost his primary last year and became a hero within his party for filing the ethics complaint against Mr. DeLay. But Mr. Bell is raising money and gathering support to run for governor.

"The fact that there is so much interest and so many people are making calls tells me that Tom must be on the ropes," Mr. Lampson said. But he added, "If a Democrat beat him, it would be because he lost, and very likely [the Democrat] could not win a second time. I realize that that's a Republican district."

Mr. Lampson said he'll decide by the end of the month. He does not live in the current DeLay district, though he used to represent the Galveston part and areas around NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Mr. DeLay has attributed his relatively low vote total last year to the fact that he gave up some GOP constituents in redistricting to ensure victory for neighboring Republicans. Analysts also note that the district has fast-growing Hispanic and Asian populations, which tend to lean toward Democrats.

Still, said Susan Gates, executive director of the Harris County Democratic Party, Mr. DeLay's troubles may have made some Democrats overly optimistic.

"People are losing sight of how Republican that district is. Just because he's having a hard time doesn't make it any easier for a Democrat," she said. "We probably will see a Republican smell blood and jump into the primary."

But Mr. Morrison predicted voter backlash on a number of fronts, including the half-million dollars Mr. DeLay paid his wife and daughter for campaign work in the last four years – an arrangement DeLay aides defend as both legal and in line with duties performed.

"Everybody in Texas understands that Texas is a community property state, and when your wife's making money, it's your money just as well," Mr. Morrison said. "That doesn't play well with the folks in District 22."

[anymouse]

The Democrats are getting deL-ussional. :)

Lampson is such a loser.

[anymouse]

Texas ping.

[Dawgreg]

Bring em' on!

[KC_Conspirator]

These people are high. They worked for months on end to gin up a fake controversy over non-existant ethical violations, and now they think Delay is in trouble. I talked to someone this weekend who works for Delay and other people on the hill about this. This whole thing is being ignored because its pure fantasy.

[federal]

"But it's clear that his actions have changed my politics. He took my district away from me, and he took a voice away from the citizens of my community."

Its called democracy there Nicky, If your community had waned your voice all you had to do is win a election.

Of course his community was his because of the democraticly jury-rigged districts which got change by the Republicans. All of which was litigated and found to be completely legal.

That's why he's mad because the old democratic standby judiciary would reinstate him.

[Zeppelin]

Regarding redistricting, I love how the Dims fought tooth and nail against it, despite how unfair it obviously was. Before redistricting, the Dims held more than half of the seats (17/32), but received only about 37% of the votes. How is that fair? The new numbers are much better.

[SDGOP]

Remember now democrats who can't beat you in election try to drag you through the mud in hopes you'll resign. Delay should just ignore these liberals and smash his opponent at the ballot box and then have democrats shut up.

[MeekOneGOP]

Democrats: No Further DeLay - After redistricting
loss, Lampson may make a run at House leader

Excerpt:

In the latest sign of fallout from redistricting, Nick Lampson – one of the Texas Democrats who lost his congressional seat last fall – says he's seriously considering a run against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

And he's not alone. Democrats are increasingly confident that a strong, well-funded candidate could give Mr. DeLay at least a scare, as ethics controversies mount for the Sugar Land Republican.

"It would not be a fun effort. It would be very hard. It would be very ugly. It would require raising an awful lot of money," Mr. Lampson said last week. "But it's clear that his actions have changed my politics. He took my district away from me, and he took a voice away from the citizens of my community."

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Texas ping list!. . .don't be shy.
No, you don't HAVE to be a Texan to get on this list!

[MeekOneGOP]

On a side note, I am mid-process in making a Tom Delay pic.

I'm really ticked at the 'RATS trying to smear this good man.

I'm thinking something along the lines of:

“You want a piece of me? You’re bringing a knife to a gun fight”

Tom Delay: Super Congressman

Or something like that. Any suggestions for a good caption on that pic? Anyone?

[TXBSAFH]

I live in Dela's district. He willbe hard to bet, and Lampson isn't it.

[solo gringo]

IMHO the dim-wits are a bunch of do nothing liberal that run and hide when they are suppose to be working for the people of TEXAS.As i use to hear on a TV program ALWAYS REMEMBER AND NEVER FORGET Tom DeLay will kick sand in you dim-wits faces.

[SDGOP]

Sad but true, we need to consolidate our red states with solid conservatives so we don't have to worry about these RINO's mucking everything up. Like the medicaid provision, its kind of sad, democrats haven't had this few senators since the 20's right before the depression an republicans were riding high then. We finally gain that strenght 80 years later and were as useless as abstinence in a frat house.

As much as i dislike the democrats you've go to admire them in the fact that they CAN keep their coalition together, we can't get our senate republicans to align half the time because of these RINO's like chafee, snow, collins screwing everything up.

[BellStar]

Now what was Lampson's real name...Lampicini (sp)...not sure of the spelling but if Lampson is ashamed of his Italian sir name and changes it to run for office I feel like the huge Italian population in DeLay's part of Galveston County should tell Nick where to go. Here that Mr. Maceo and Mr. Fertitta.

[lonestar]

Nick Lampson is such a joke! If he had been from anywhere but Beaumont (home of Walter Umphrey), Lampson would have been in jail for Medicare fraud when he owned a home health care business.

Talk about "Ethically Challenged," this is the boy!

[deport]

Now what was Lampson's real name...Lampicini (sp)...not sure of the spelling but if Lampson is ashamed of his Italian sir name and changes it to run for office I feel like the huge Italian population in DeLay's part of Galveston County should tell Nick where to go.

---

Never heard that...... do you have some documentation?

[BellStar]

Stockman campaign folks had the documentation.

[GulfBreeze]

We can only pray these silly Dem fools get in the race.

However, I'll come unglued at anyone oportunist jumping in Tom's primary. NO THANK YOU!!!

And this Chronicle reporter... puke...

This guy is a joke.

[TexKat]

Republican calls for DeLay to resign as majority leader

Texan's ethics woes are detrimental to GOP, Shays says

Monday, April 11, 2005

Rep. Christopher Shays said yesterday that fellow Republican Rep. Tom DeLay should step down as House majority leader because his continuing ethics problems are hurting the GOP.

"Tom's conduct is hurting the Republican Party, is hurting this Republican majority and it is hurting any Republican who is up for re-election," Shays told The Associated Press yesterday.

DeLay, R-Texas, has been dogged in recent months by reports of possible ethics violations. There have been questions about his overseas travel, campaign payments to family members, and his connections to lobbyists who are under investigation.

Shays, a moderate Republican from Connecticut who has battled with his party's leadership on a number of issues, said that efforts by the House GOP members to change ethics rules to protect DeLay only make the party look bad.

"My party is going to have to decide whether we are going to continue to make excuses for Tom to the detriment of Republicans seeking election," Shays said.

Rick Santorum, the No. 3 Republican in the Senate, said yesterday that DeLay needs to answer questions about his ethics.

"I think he has to come forward and lay out what he did and why he did it and let the people then judge for themselves," Santorum told ABC's This Week. "But from everything I've heard, again, from the comments and responding to those, is everything he's done was according to the law."

DeLay's spokesman, Dan Allen, said yesterday that the congressman looks forward to "sitting down with the ethics-committee chairman and ranking member to get the facts out and to dispel the fiction and innuendo that is being launched at him by House Democrats and their liberal allies."

DeLay was admonished three times last year by that committee, which has been in limbo since March, when its five Democrats balked at adopting rules developed by Republicans.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said last week that the controversy was distracting DeLay from dealing with more pressing problems before Congress.

Santorum, however, said that DeLay is "very effective in leading the House" and "to date, has not been compromised."

A senior Democratic senator, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, had this advice for the Republicans who control both the House and Senate: "Be careful about how closely you embrace Mr. DeLay."

Dodd cited the new rules for the ethics committee that House Republicans rammed through in the wake of DeLay's difficulties. Those rules require a bipartisan vote before an investigation can be started.

"Unfortunately, in his particular case, there's a process that he's tried to change so they could actually reach a determination as to whether or not he's innocent or guilty of the things he's been charged with," Dodd said. "But this is not going to go away."

DeLay, who took center stage in passing legislation to keep Terri Schiavo alive, also has found that President Bush and congressional colleagues are distancing themselves from his comments about the judges involved in her case.

"The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior," DeLay said, raising the prospect of impeaching members of a separate and independent branch of government. Later, he complained of "an arrogant and out of control judiciary that thumbs its nose at Congress and the president."

Bush, declining to endorse DeLay's comments, said Friday that he supports "an independent judiciary." He added, "I believe in proper checks and balances."

[deport]

Thanks... I've never heard that but I knew he was of Italian heritage.... I could see his parents or grand parents changing their last name at some point back in their history but was unaware of Nick doing so for political purposes. He took or used the nick name Nick short for Nicholas Valentino.

Guess I'll be suspect of his doing it for political purposes based upon info from Stockman until I see some documentation.... Again thanks.