Tom DeLay

Thomas Dale DeLay (born April 8, 1947) is the controversial Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is well-known for his staunch conservative stances in foreign and domestic policy, and for being a fiercely partisan politician.

Biography and Early Political Career

He was born in Laredo, Texas, and lived part of his childhood in Venezuela due to his father's work in the oil and gas industry. DeLay graduated from the University of Houston in 1970 and went into the pest control business. He was elected to the Texas State House in 1978 and then was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1984, representing the Texas 22nd Congressional District. He became a born-again Christian in 1985.

Congressional Career

When the Republican Party gained control of the House of Representatives in 1994, DeLay was elected by his Republican colleagues as Majority Whip, succeeding Representative Newt Gingrich, who became Speaker of the House. After serving as Whip for eight years, in 2003 DeLay was elected Majority Leader upon the retirement of fellow Texan Dick Armey from the House.

In Congress, DeLay earned the nickname "The Hammer," for his enforcement of Party discipline in close votes and his reputation for wreaking political vengeance on opponents. His Christian conservative viewpoint led him to vote 100% in line with the views of the National Right to Life Committee and 0% with the National Abortion Reproductive Rights Action League.

On economic and environmental policy, he was rated a 95 by the anti-tax Americans for Tax Reform, and 95 to 100 by the United States Chamber of Commerce, a business lobby, while earning ratings of 0 from the Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters. DeLay has been a fervent critic of the EPA, which he has called the "Gestapo of government." DeLay has also sided with business owners over labor unions and is against gun control, supporting gun ownership rights.

In foreign policy, DeLay has been a strong supporter of the State of Israel, saying, ?The Republican leadership, especially that leadership in the House, has made pro-Israel policy a fundamental component of our foreign policy agenda and it drives the Democrat leadership crazy ? because they just can?t figure out why we do it!?

DeLay blames Senate Democrats and what he dubbed "BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything) environmentalists" for blocking legislative solutions to problems such as the 2003 U.S.-Canada blackout.

Texas Redistricting; Accusations of Gerrymandering

DeLay made headlines in 2003 when he supported a controversial Congressional redistricting plan in Texas. The plan would likely result in a gain as many as seven GOP seats in the the U.S. House of Representatives. The Republican party gained control of redistricting when it gained a majority in the Texas Legislature in 2001. In 2003, Texas Democrats made national headlines when they travelled across the state border to Oklahoma en masse to deny a quorum for voting on the plan.

Opponents of the plan suggested that such dramatic changes in the makeup of the Texas Congressional Delegation were evidence of gerrymandering, while supporters noted that the Democrats' 17 to 15 edge in the congressional delegation, held since the 1991 Texas redistricting implemented by the Democrats, does not reflect the politics of a state where all 29 statewide office-holders elected are Republicans. Redistricting in the middle of a decade, after a plan based on that decade's census, is highly unusual.

Ethics investigations

DeLay is currently under investigation for ethical violations, stemming from complaints filed by Representative Chris Bell of Texas. Some of the complaints involve illegal campaign financing.

Three members of a DeLay-founded political action committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, including its executive director, were indicted September 21, 2004 by a grand jury in Travis County, Texas on charges of money laundering and accepting illegal campaign contributions.

Supporters of Tom Delay contend that this investigation and the indictments are "politically motivated indictments".