MSNBC: DeLay succumbs to a poisoned chalice

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12153360/

<snip>

The bigger question is whether Mr DeLay's ousting foreshadows a larger defeat for his party in the congressional elections this autumn or whether Republicans can rebound from the loss as they did when Mr Gingrich stepped down.

Republicans are hoping that Mr DeLay's departure will damp down the furore over corruption allegations and could even energise the party's base for the November elections.

A senior Republican operative with close ties to the White House said Mr DeLay's decision would reduce the intensity of the corruption issue, while firing up religious conservatives who believe "one of their own got persecuted out of office". He added that Republicans would win the seat vacated by Mr DeLay, who had been looking increasingly vulnerable to the Democratic challenger in his Texas district.

But that optimistic view is not widely shared. Mr DeLay remains under scrutiny as part of the widening inquiry into Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist who sprinkled millions of dollars among Republican politicians and has come to symbolise the uncomfortably close relationship between the party and big money lobbyists.

Just check out their bloviating blogs today and you'll learn:

DeLay was pushed out of office by a liberal conspiracy and spineless Republicans...
...forget that he had no real defense for his crimes...

He'll be more powerful now and the Dems will regret this day...
...People often leave the third highest office in congress to become more powerful as prayer breakfast speakers...

He was principled enough to step down rather than let a 'Rat win his seat...
...and what a light 'step down' it is when your pockets are full of millions of dollars in campaign funds...

Poisoned chalice? Hello? Delay did this to himself. :eyes:

And the Repubs didn't bounce back--THEY CHEATED!!!!

:headbang:
rocknation

Now the dem running in that district doesn't have a blight on the nation to run against. This has got to take reduce the what some saw as a national need to get rid of DeLay.