Customer Reviews

The Hammer: Tom DeLay: God, Money, and the Rise of the Republican Congress

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The interesting thing about this is the subject rather than the writing or the style of the book. I found that I labored reading this rather than enjoying it. However, it does get three stars because it was revealing about Tom Delay whom the author presented as interesting and disturbing, an American Machiavelli.

We learn a little bit of his character by his pettiness in his reaction to lawsuits against him, and his membership in a club that, using a play on words, has the initials KKK. These things give a little glimpse into the man's vindictiveness and racism. We also learn about Delay's utter insensitivity toward others with such pronouncements explaining why he didn't serve in the army--because enlistments were being taken by Blacks and Latinos, and he did not want to deny them the high pay that the Army was providing. Gee, that was big of him.

Such insensitivity turns to the pathological in his defense of "free market economics" in American Samoa. An unscrupulous asian businessman named Tan needed labor to have his products reach American markets. Convincing dirt poor Asians that their family members will get jobs in America, they go further in debt to pay the thousands of dollars required for job selection. The unwitting worker deplanes on American territory (American Samoa) and works under sweatshop conditions fourteen hours a day. They live in a virtual barracks with little sustenance, privacy or sanitation. Managers impregnate these defenseless female employees who are then forced to have abortions. In the meantime, they get further into debt producing clothes that proudly bear the title, "American made." Even Delay applauds the free-market economics and capitalism in Samoa.

We learn that during his stay in a swanky Samoan hotel, his time on the golf links, and at sumptuous banquets, desperate workers are trying to pass notes to him and his entourage to let him know of the desperate conditions under which they labor. Oblivious, Delay will block any attempt by congress to enact or improve working conditions on the island. One wonders if any of those notes addressed the forced abortions to which he is so opposed in this country!

His machiavellian skill is evident in congress as he extends the deadlines of votes for some old-fashioned arm-twisting and bribery. This true-to-life ogre may have changed the way congress does business forever. He shuts out the traditional bi-partisan debate on bills, and even demands what he expects from lobbyists--rather than the other way around. He is ultimately censured several times by a bi-partisan ethics committee.

Update: Tom Delay has since resigned his seat in disgrace, and will probably, or at least hopefully, go to jail. We must hope that his congressional legacy is not allowed to continue.

Recently a convention which held the theme that Christians are being persecuted in this country called Tom Delay a fine christian man. The main speaker said that they (I guess that means the rest of us) were after Delay because of his Christian faith, and his belief in Jesus Christ.

The one good thing about being the victim is, you don't have to accept responsibility for your actions.

Amen!

First off, this book is not very well written. It is full of incomplete sentences, the writing is often choppy, and the authors sometimes get themselves tongue-tied. That being said, this (I am assuming hastily published) account of House Majority Leader DeLay is an excellent book for understanding the sewer-like atmosphere that characterizes doing business on The Hill today.

Authors Dubose and Reid give much detail into such activities as DeLay's dealing with far-right Christian Premillinialist groups, his support for sweatshop labor in far away American territories, and his vengeful nature when dealing with anyone who would dare look at DeLay sideways. DeLay's passion seems not in enriching himself personally. He seems much mnore interested in gaining and consolidating power for himself.

The most telling feature of DeLay's leadership is the close relationship detailed in the book between the Majority Leader and industry lobbyists. Early in his career DeLay brought industry lobbyists into his office and set them up to actually write legislation regarding the EPA, which DeLay has a passionate hatred of. Later on, DeLay recieved direct funding for his activities from such companies as Westar and Enron, having Ken Lay write checks for his Texas Political Action Committees so that they can use the money (illegaly) in campaigns in Texas House races. DeLay set this up to ensure that his plan to redistrict the House seats of Texas legislators would pass.

There are many other dirty and underhanded activities DeLay has led detailed in this book, the above mentions are just aming his greatest hits. I would definitely recommend this book for those interested in why Capitol Hill seems like such an ugly place to do business nowadays. It is because of people like Tom DeLay.

OK, first off, in deference to the harsher critics of this book, it does seem like a total rush job - punctuation and spelling errors abound. These errors were obvious enough and often enough to make me wonder about the author's methods of research and interviewing - were they as spotty as their grammar? I would not be surprised if there were factual errors as well, but I don't know enough about the details of DeLay's life to spot them and although I doubt they're fatal, they still provide needless ammunition for DeLay's defenders. Their publisher should have let a copy editor spend a few more hours with the manuscript.

That said, this book is a terrific read and an excellent overview of the life and works of Tom Delay. The authors begin by touching on his upbringing in rural Texas and then chart his rise through the Texas legislature. The early chapters give a sense of how his character was formed (apparently, rather poorly) and how he came to embrace the toxic brand of conservatism that he is currently trying to jam down the throats of the American people. The latter chapters explore his cunning use of the powers at the disposal of a House Whip to steer both the Republican Party and Congress to the far right. The authors also lay bare DeLay's fundraising machinations, and show that one of the primary sources of the loyalty that DeLay enjoys from his fellow members is the cash he is able to infuse into their campaigns.

Finally we get a truly nauseating glimpse into his dealings with Saipan and his courtship of End Times obsessed "Christians." It was after reading these chapters that I stopped viewing him as merely a canny politician and instead came to view him as one of the most cynical and evil men who has ever held office in the United States. Sound like hyperbole? Just try and square his purported "pro-life" positions and chest beating over Terry Schiavo with his support for the business owners in the Mariana Islands.

The Marianas are a Commonwealth of the United States, and goods made there can be labeled with "Made in the USA." Unfortunately, none of the workers in these factories are protected by US Labor or Environmental laws. The workers spend their lives in factory "camps" working for slave wages and being exposed to all sorts of toxic materials. If any of the young women (who make up the majority of the population.) should become pregnant (rape and sexual slavery are common) they are heavily encouraged (read "forced") to have abortions in order to keep their jobs. Tom Delay fought tooth and nail to stop a bill that would have brought humane living and working conditions to these people.

I think that this book is pretty much essential reading if you are interested in seeing how our government operates. DeLay may not be Speaker, but in many ways he is far more influential than many past Speakers. The authors have provided us with an unflinching look at how power is gained, maintained and exercised in Washington.

Don't be worried about having to spend hours and hours wading through this muck, this is a quick and dirty read (and trust me, this is good for reasons both practical and philosophical, 1) you won't want to spend anymore than 300 or so pages with this awful little man, and 2) he's not worthy of a Robert Caro-ish 1000 page tome.)

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

Tom DeLay came from the camps of Texas and lived with an alcoholic father: a questionable beginning indeed. He moved from the owner of a pest control business with a reputation as a party boy to become the most powerful man in Congress, today: The Hammer: God, Money And The Rise Of The Republican Congress charts his rise to power. Not only does The Hammer cover DeLay's life: it analyzes accompanying social and political changes which fostered his rise.

I was so disappointed in The Hammer and wish somehow I could get the time back I spent reading it. I first learned of the book when the author was interviewed on a radio program. Based soley upon the interview, I bought the book.

It is poorly organized so it is difficult to read. It does not move much beyond the single theme, which most readers already know prior to picking up the book, Tom Delay is a conservative Republican that has been able to use money to force and manipulate votes in Congress. The way in which he did this was through getting lobbyist to contribute to the Republican Party and Republican candidates to the exclusion of Democrats.

I would have liked to learn more about the details of Mr. DeLay's operation. Additionally, what does Mr. DeLay's strategy mean for the country, if anything?

The book ends abruptly. It seemed as if the author wanted to reach a set number of pages and when he hit it he stopped writing.

I wanted more than what is provided in newspapers and did not get it.

Reading this book? Good. Following Tom Delay's antics? Interesting. Watching his unfolding ethics problems? Informative. Seeing him leave Congress? Priceless.

Tom DeLay came from the camps of Texas and lived with an alcoholic father: a questionable beginning indeed. He moved from the owner of a pest control business with a reputation as a party boy to become the most powerful man in Congress, today: The Hammer: God, Money And The Rise Of The Republican Congress charts his rise to power. Not only does The Hammer cover DeLay's life: it analyzes accompanying social and political changes which fostered his rise.

Rather than this being a comprehensive biography of the man this book is a clumsy hatchet job which is a shame. I am not saying I am a big fan of Delay. I am not. There is enough about Tom Delay to causes one to raise eyebrows. But rather than the authors doing an extensive investigation their zeal to either "have at" Delay or rush their book to print leaves us with a disjointed picture of the man. It is important for us to know the full truth about Delay both good and bad and even though the book is an attack against Delay even the negatives this book reveals are inadequately expressed and incomplete.

I look forward to a books by other authors, either from the right or the left, that have a much more academic approach.

As Delay seems to be the latest victim of the bloodsport which is politics and may well fade into obscurity we may never know the complete facts thanks to a book like this.

This book was okay. It had great info. It's a great book to learn about the corupt tactics Tom DeLay and the GOP (Greed and Oil Party). If you'r a Molly Ivans fan you will love this book!