Customer Reviews

The Hammer Comes Down: The Nasty, Brutish, and Shortened Political Life of Tom DeLay

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One of the Republican reforms implemented after the 1994 takeover of the House was to greatly reduce the power of formerly powerful committee chairmen who had presided with baronial independence based on a rigid system of seniority. Now there is a six-year limit on their chairmanships, support staff have been cut one-third (limiting their ability to analyze issues), each party's study groups were eliminated (provided brief summaries of bills), and the Speaker has the ability to appoint/replace chairmen. This new environment provided the power vacuum for Majority Leader DeLay to grab power.

DeLay dodged Vietnam service via student and marriage deferments. DeLay first ran for Congress after the EPA banned Mirex - one of the few chemicals that kill fire ants. This was particularly offensive to DeLay who had been an exterminator, albeit a marginally successful one. (The IRS had filed liens in '79, '80, '83 for failure to pay withheld income and Social Security taxes from DeLay's employees.) DeLay had been a three-term member of the Texas legislature (few remember him at that time) at the time he first ran for Congress in 1984.

DeLay's first focus was the pornography and banality of grants supported by the National Endowment for the Arts - with a few others from Texas the result was an $8 million cut in their funding. DeLay was a heavy drinker at the time, but after seeing one of Dr. James Dobson's TV presentations he became very upset about now spending much time with his daughter, and he became a "Born-Again" Baptist.

DeLay got on the Republican Committee on Committees as a freshman, making him part of those who allocate seats and can thereby cultivate favor. Upon re-election DeLay moved to the powerful Appropriations Committee, though that never was his real interest.

1994 was a banner year for House Republicans. Between Hillary's healthcare reform bill (supported by President Clinton, but massacred by insurance companies), Clinton's support for gays in the military (created upsetness among evangelical Christians), and the assault weapons ban (prompted the NRA to donate $70 million to support candidates to its liking), the Republicans took control. DeLay got into the practice of using his PAC to buy loyalty of members by contributing to their campaigns and providing training for political candidates he supported; he furthered his strength by also getting lobbyists on his rolodex to also help support those same candidates directly. DeLay became the Republican Whip, and selected Hastert as chief deputy.

Moving further, DeLay started the "K Street Project" - lobbyists united behind the concept of freeing business from government taxation and regulation. (When asked, DeLay replied that he could not think of a Federal regulation he would keep intact.) Saipan (an American protectorate) offers an example of DeLay's regulation-free utopia - DeLay worked to prevent U.S. labor laws from applying there, leaving intact the practice of $3/hour wages, less deductions for food and lodging (ten to a room), large fees assessed outsiders to enter for a job, and minimal benefits, and forcing acceptance of an Enron (large DeLay donor) proposal for a new power-plant.

Dubose moves on to summaries of various DeLay protégés in charge of fund-raising that skirted laws limiting the amounts from individuals and corporations - the process involved shuffling funds, and where possible, also hiding IDs. While some of the participants were forced to pay fines, others maneuvered around to achieve dismissal of their case. DeLay, however, was untouched.

Another key DeLay action, according to Dubose, was his forcing the House to go beyond voting censure of President Clinton for the Lewinsky affair, to the much bigger act of impeachment.

DeLay's greatest "innovation" was forcing lobbying groups to accept Republican approval of those filling key leadership positions - those that did not simply did not get access. DeLay forced the issue when he pulled a key piece of legislation for the Electronic Industries Alliance on copyright protection that had been worked on for over a year when they moved to hire a Democrat head. (DeLay was later censured by the House Ethics Committee over this action; regardless, the practice of approving lobbying group leadership remains firmly in place.) Criteria considered were three: 1)Is the applicant a Republican? 2)How much has he/she contributed to the Republican party, candidates, and PACs? 3)Has the applicant contributed to the Democrat part, candidates, and PACs? Lobbyists are now told to lean on House members to whom they have contributed money and tell them how the party wants them to vote.

DeLay and Rove then joined forces to change Texas districting to favor Republicans. The first outcome was that 18 of 21 hand-picked conservative Republicans won Texas legislative races, taking over the law-making in that state. They then redistricted ("gerrymandered" according to opponents) so that 5 - 7 more Republicans would win election to Congress, as well as defeat some of Bush's sharpest critics. (DeLay has been indicted by local officials for his role in financing this transition.)

DeLay supports Israel (forced Bush to withdraw support for Palestine), solicits money from Jewish groups, and looks forward to "The Day" (Apocalypse).

DeLay's greatest vulnerability at this time appears to be his close association with lobbyists Jack Abramoff, charter member of DeLay's K-Street "kitchen cabinet" lobbying group. Abramoff and associates took $45 million in Indian tribe lobbying fees - over the same time period G.M.'s total lobbying was less, as was the big four in pharmaceuticals. This amount was about 25% of one tribes entire budget - reportedly squeezed out of them through scare tactics.

"The Hammer Comes Down" does a good job of explaining the source of Congressman DeLay's power, and is interesting reading.