DeLay's legacy: A split decision
- R.G. Ratcliffe - Houston Chronicle
- Nov 29, 2010
AUSTIN — The legacy of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is one of perspective.
From the Democratic view, DeLay was a harbinger of hyper-partisanship and an architect of big-money congressional fundraising that led to corruption and scandals. It was just such a fundraising scheme that prompted a Travis County jury to convict DeLay of political money laundering on Wednesday.
From his own point of view and that of his supporters, the Sugar Land Republican was an uncompromising conservative who promoted smaller government, opposed abortion and euthanasia and pushed welfare reform and the Patriot Act through Congress.
From the viewpoint of some staunch conservatives, however, DeLay is a man who went off track and was willing to grow the federal government as part of a quest for a permanent Republican majority.
Conservative activist Richard Viguerie said former President Ronald Reagan once said anyone who refers to the federal government as "us" had been in Washington too long. Viguerie then noted that DeLay once was told to extinguish a cigar in a Washington restaurant because smoking it violated federal rules.
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