DeLay is losing support, poll finds

[Robbien]

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's footing among his constituents has slipped drastically during the past year and a majority of his district disapproves of how he handled the Terri Schiavo case, according to a Houston Chronicle poll.

Nearly 40 percent of the 501 voters questioned Wednesday through Friday said their opinion of the powerful Sugar Land Republican is less favorable than last year, compared with 11 percent who said their view of him has improved.

Half of the respondents gave DeLay a somewhat or very favorable rating.

Yet 49 percent said they would vote for someone other than DeLay if a congressional election in the 22nd District were at hand; 39 percent said they would stick with him.

"There seems to be no question that there has been an erosion in support for the congressman," said John Zogby, whose polling company, Zogby International, performed the survey. "He is posting numbers that one would have to consider in the dangerous territory for an incumbent. And he isn't just an incumbent, he is a longtime incumbent."

. . .

In the survey, 268 people, or 53 percent, said they are Republicans; 166, or a third, identified themselves as Democrats; one is a Libertarian, and the rest are independents.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3115205

[Placebo]

1. Fantastic news.

Shooting himself in the foot. I love it. :thumbsup:

[ellenfl]

30. will he need a feeding tube? eom

[Placebo]

51. hopefully his constituents will pull the plug

O8)

[rainbow4321]

54. How about a large bore rectal tube instead? n/t

[hippiepunk]

2. I pray to God

Texans kick the sumbitch out on his ass

[Erika]

3. Delay blasts Michael

but his own mother says his father wouldn't want to be a vegetable. The guys as dirty as they come.

[Ilsa]

47. Michael Schiavo might have a better chance of

surviving than DeLay.

[NYC]

4. He deserves it.

[Hardrada]

6. I couldn't agree more.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

5. Excellent!

I'd heard from a few people in his district that he was losing popularity but I was scared to believe it.

This is a definite step in the right direction. :)

[jamesinca]

7. So we take advantage of it NOW!

A symbolic hit like the one on Sen. Daschle. If he amazingly retires that will take the fun out of it but save the repug party the disgrace of him trying to be re-elected.

What does the future hold? Will he start a charm offensive and try to get his constituents back? Will he be the hard headed, stubborn individual that can not give up the power and keep going on his way?

I say kick him while he is down and force him into a charm offensive, expose everything he does, every breath he takes, every opinion he voices support or disdain for. LTTE to his local paper from the DUers. Can we start the DU push poll service, I will gladly call a few of his constituents!

[manly]

36. delaying tactics

Right!!!
Now is the time to attack this low-life scumbag! Concentrate on finding and pushing a democratic candidate to oppose him,and attack him every which way, on TV, in the media,etc. Do what the republican fundies did to the democrats. Make him a target, which he deserves to be. Concentrate on getting rid of him. He is an open sore on the republican ass.

[CitySky]

58. check, and check

We have our man in Richard Morrison: put up a good fight against DeLay, forcing him to actually use some of his slimy money to campaign in his own district for once (imagine that!) in 2004, and is already gearing up for 2006. Richard: :thumbsup:

As for the attack ads - there was some press last week about a group, I forget the name, which is airing TV ads in DeLay's district NOW saying "Congress needs to wash its hands of DeLay."

The blood is in the water.

[MADem]

74. This site is fun

http://www.pcactionfund.org/withoutdelay/facts/
10 reasons why Tom DeLay should resign from Congress

[imenja]

8. anyone know anything about that district?

I've often wondered what kind of people it would take to vote for DeLay? Even assuming you're in the Christian Right, this is a guy who fought tooth and nail against tax breaks for poor and middle-income people (outside of the income tax) while lobbying for a permanent tax cut for the rich. :shrug:

[last_texas_dem]

17. I believe it's mostly Houston suburban

Sugar Land and the other Houston suburbs were small towns that grew as Houston grew during the seventies and eighties, largely from rich, white folks fleeing the city. So, they're largely rich, white, ultraconservative and Republican. That's how a nut like Delay has managed to stay alive in this district as long as he has.

However, he actually diversified his district a bit with his gerrymandering stunt; he must have figured he could make his race a little harder to win to help his fellow Republicans. He took in part of traditionally Democratic Galveston County and also part of Harris County (he made sure to steal NASA away from former Democratic Rep. Nick Lampson.) His district is a less white than before, but still quite well off.

It's more his crazy social conservatism than anything that seems to play down here, but maybe he's even overstepped his boundaries with this Shiavo thing. Then again, that assumes his constituents have long memories and will actually remember the stunt come the '06 elections.

Here's a link to the demographics of his district:

http://fastfacts.census.gov/servlet/CWSFacts?geo_id=50000US4822&_sse=on

[imenja]

20. thanks, that's very helpful

It makes sense he would come from a prosperous district. For some reason I imagined he was from a rural/ small town area. Obviously I was wrong.

[noamnety]

23. That would be poetic justice

If the redistricting contributed to him losing his seat, that would make my day.

[Zhade]

43. It's up to Texans to MAKE them remember.

Run ads showing his hypocrisy with Schiavo, with ethics laws, with everything he touches.

Dig up the story about his appearance at the Israeli Knesset, wherein he allied the U.S. with Israel in a really creepy way.

Open the closet - the skeletons are making the door bulge already!

[Kber]

52. A few more things about Sugar Land

About a year ago I was offered a job in Houston and we did some extensive research on the surrounding communities.

1. Sugar Land has, by far, some of the best public schools in the area.

2. It has, by far, some of the lowest crime rates.

3. Although property values in the Houston suburbs were, in general, much lower than in Northern NJ where we live now, in Sugar Land, they were somewhat comparable, especially when you considered the very high property taxes.

Lastly, and perphaps most importantly though, it is not nearly the transient community that some Houston suburbs are. When I interviewed for the job, only 2 of the 12 people I met with were Texas natives. Houston has a growing job market and a lot of transplants from other states. In some communities, I think out-of-staters may outnumber born Texans. This was much less the case in Sugar Land.

That said, everyone we met was friendly and helpful. They are proud of their community. OTOH, we found the realitor much less encouraging about moving into Sugar Land "where we might have more trouble getting comfortable" than some of the other surrounding towns. It was an interesting experience all around.

[CitySky]

59. realtor's comment - ?

are you non-white, or were you just open about politics or urbanism?

[Kber]

65. I asked if there were any synogogues close by. nt

on edit - she said there were not.

[argyl]

73. As a kid growing up in Houston Sugarland was an Imperial Sugar

refining plant and a sweet smell in the air when we took our Sunday drives.That was over forty years ago.

[jmcon007]

9. delay needs to go home and ride the tram....

[leftofthedial]

10. how could ANYONE support that contemptible POS?

Lying, cheating, criminal conman hypocrite

[Greylyn58]

11. Please let this continue to be true

The Bug Man needs to go....


:evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin:

[xxqqqzme]

12. exterminate the roach man

All those lethal chemicals he used R rotting his brain.

[ngGale]

13. His own party is getting a little worried about...

De Lay, he is becoming an asset - NOT!

[Skittles]

14. his attempt to use a brain-damaged woman as a diversion didn't work?

what a disgusting little turd he is

[liberalla]

15. Loved reading that!

Hope it continues eroding. I'd think it would with all the crap surrounding him (pending investigations, ethics etc.)

[ninkasi]

16. Tom DeLay is perfect!

He is a perfect example of how low the Republican party has sunk. He represents everything wrong with politics, and politicians. Even though I was born and raised in Houston, and have lived in Texas all my life, I could never figure out why anyone with a functioning brain would vote him to be anything.

He personifies greed, personal agenda at the expense of the country as a whole, and everything the trashing of everything good the Founding Fathers tried to craft into our Constitution.

I know he tries to represent himself as a Christian right-wing Repuke, but his views, his streak of meanness, his hypocricy, are at odds with everything the Jesus he claims to follow preached. This country needs to vote out the DeLays, the Bush family, and all the others who willingly cause enormous misery for the majority, all so that they can set themselves up as the interpretors of God's word, and the only ones who can enact legislation pleasing to their Deity.

I can imagine no more hateful a place as the one he envisions...all white, all fundie Christian, all radical right-wing theocrats...what a hell that would be for me, what a numbing, mindless, empty existence. I love the tapestry of the true America, the many cultures, the many languages, the many races, religions, points of view...I embrace them, and only want to learn from them. All they want is their own vision, a narrow one, of bland sameness, programmed to accept whatever pablum they chose to choke us with. Not for me.

I haven't slept yet, going to bed, but goodnight/morning to all at DU, my home away from home, and the thing that keeps me as sane as anything can.

[ellenfl]

31. y'all have forgotten that he was preceded

by that fine example of virtuous ideals, newt 'the hoot' gingrich. the dc environment seems to magnify the repugs repulsiveness. i'm sure another will come to the fore when the bug man is gone.

ellen fl

[CitySky]

60. Repugs & Christianity

Christian meditation for the today: almost all of the major "sin lists" in the New Testament include the word...

GREED.

The one in Colossians says "greed, which is idolatry." Just a point to ponder.

[yorkdane]

78. This is by far and away one of the best posts I have read in

a very long time! You so accurately summarized in this paragraph what many of us are feeling/thinking and perhaps not saying:

"I can imagine no more hateful a place as the one he envisions...all white, all fundie Christian, all radical right-wing theocrats...what a hell that would be for me, what a numbing, mindless, empty existence. I love the tapestry of the true America, the many cultures, the many languages, the many races, religions, points of view...I embrace them, and only want to learn from them. All they want is their own vision, a narrow one, of bland sameness, programmed to accept whatever pablum they chose to choke us with. Not for me."

Thank you!

[arcos]

18. 2004 candidate Richard Morrison is running again...

His website is http://www.richardmorrisonfordistrict22.com/

In their district, Morrison got 6,000 more votes than Kerry, and Delay got 12,000 less than Bush.

[Robbien]

24. Delay didn't get any Dem crossover votes in 2004? In fact he lost

12,000 Bush voters!

No wonder they are a bit worried now.

[wryter2000]

33. Awwwwriiiight!

Morrison's running again? This is going to cost me more money. He's great!

[mopinko]

35. morrison never stopped running

i sent him some money, and get his e-mails and he said from day one that he was running again. he did a good job. howard helped him as much as he could. between dean and emmanual, i'm sure delay is target one.
but y'all click that link there and send a few bucks. early money is the best money.

[AnneD]

42. It will continue to be a burr under my saddle.......

That Morrison did not get more financial support. He could not compete with the bucks DeLay could shell out. I think that Morrison did as well as he did with what he had speaks volumns. DeLay has done as well as he has because he brings home the bacon.....however, many of the things he backs can be contradictory to what is in the best interest of Houston. We had to fight sooo long to get light rail and mass transit here because he opposed it. He use to not be the insufferable prick that he now is. It really is a Mr. Smith goes to Washington and is seduced by the dark side story. He was a lot nicer when he was known as hot tub Tom. I don't even recognize him now. Well, pride goeth before a fall and like others before him....he will fall too.

[saigon68]

19. Delay = a turd floating to the top of the Bowl

Needing a flush by the voters

[MADem]

75. Floaters are indicative of excessive fat

No doubt a result of all the pork and graft he has enjoyed over the years.....

[Mist]

21. You're going down Bugman!

I hope for a very public implosion of Delay's career and his whole rotten house of cards.

[AnnInLa]

22. Get out in the liberal blog community, and you will see

that they think DeLay needs to be "helped along" on his path to self-destruction by the Democrats. Now is the time for Democrats to jump on DeLay loudly and often...will the wimpy dems do it? Who knows. Some blogsters want him out now, and some say it would be handy to keep him around for the 2008 presidential elections, to use him as a boogie-man, to rail against a "DeLay-Frist" Congress. Word is that DeLay is using the fundie faction as a threat to every republican lawmaker...he is threatening to use them against every republican lawmaker who does not support him vigorously against attempts to get him out of office...even moderate republicans are afraid for their seats in Congress if DeLay thinks they are not supporting/protecting him enough. God, what scum. I was wondering if Cheney's remarks about DeLays threats to the judges was a ray of hope...if Cheney/Rove think he is becoming a liability, maybe they can influence all of those repuke lawmakers to abandon DeLay. Interesting in the extreme, but there are other repuke lawmakers just as bad as DeLay lining up to take his place already...Brownback, for one.

[zalinda]

26. I think now is the time to change

our wording. DeLay is a neocon, within the repub party. Just as the repubs changed liberal into a slur, we should change neocon into a slur. It should now be neocon press, and talk show hosts as neocon. We need to dirty the word, so repubs can disassociate themselves from them.

zalinda

[Zhade]

44. Wait, what did Darth Cheney say about DeLay?

I missed that one...

EDIT: Gee, if I'd read one post down... :P

[Pepperbelly]

25. Is Dick Cheney piling onto Bugman?

-snip-

Cheney said he backed efforts to help save Terri Schiavo’s life, but strongly disagreed with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), who wants retribution against judges who blocked restoration of her feeding tube.

“I don’t think that’s appropriate . . . There’s a reason why judges get lifetime appointments.”

http://thinkprogress.org/index.php?p=559

[UrbScotty]

27. Daschle's revenge?

If they beat the Senate Democratic Leader, why can't we beat the House Majority Leader?

[UrbScotty]

28. Daschle's revenge?

If they beat the Senate Democratic Leader, why can't we beat the House Majority Leader?

[Renew Deal]

29. There are more Republicans in that district.

So I don't think the poll is biased. That's a very good sign.

[wryter2000]

32. Oh, please, please, pleeeeeze eom

eom

[0007]

34. Good Read

Speaking of Our Constitution ...
By Murshed Zaheed
Posted on Sun Apr 03, 2005 at 11:20:45 AM EST

The Denver Post offered Tom DeLay a quick civics lesson on the very same topic Ed brought up in his last post:
But after his side lost at every level of the state and federal judiciary, right up to and including the U.S. Supreme Court, DeLay threatened to punish the judges who had decided the case. "This loss happened because our legal system did not protect the people who need protection most, and that will change," he wailed. "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior."

Exactly what punishment DeLay plans to mete out to the judges who did their duty under the Constitution isn't clear, though some of his fellow fulminators have laughingly suggested impeachment. Before such a spectacle occurs, however, we hope one of America's thousands of dedicated high-school civics teachers will take DeLay aside and explain to him what the words "the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact" means.

By trying to predetermine the issues of law and fact that the Constitution reserves for the courts, DeLay is basically demanding the power to pass a bill of attainder. Before the American Revolution, the British Parliament used that tactic to imprison or execute political opponents who had committed no crime. Rebelling against such tyranny - and foreseeing the day when a Tom DeLay might rise in America - the founding fathers wisely mandated: "no bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed." (Article 1, Section 9.)

The more we see of Tom DeLay, the more we revere the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and the other founders.

[babsbunny]

37. If Delay gets the boot

Do you think he will start talking, since he probably won't stick with any oath of silence, and maybe take the whole administration down with him? PLEASE???

[0007]

38. Mad dogs are totally unpredictable!

[Bake]

57. Mad dog. You nailed it!

That's the perfect term for the Bugman!

And you know what they do with mad dogs. Put them down. He needs to be "put down" politically. Maybe, just maybe, the pendulum has reached its apex and will start to swing the other way. Delay is waaaaay worse than Newt ever thought about being.

Bake

[Zhade]

45. That's an awesome piece.

I love the way DeLay's getting schooled on the Constitution by proxy.

Unfortunately, DeLay and the rest of the b**sh traitors don't give a damn about the Constitution.

[kwyjibo]

39. Maybe he should switch to the 18-hour bra.

[Catherine Vincent]

40. It's hard to believe 39% still support this rat bastard.

But it's because they adore people like Tom Delay. No matter what misdeeds he's done, they'll support him regardless because he's a repuke. As long as their's an R next to the name. Typical Bush voter.

[ClintonTyree]

41. Half of the respondents gave Delay..........

a somewhat or very favorable rating. How many brain dead people are in his Congressional District? :wtf:

Delay must be greasing an awful lot of palms to maintain these numbers, or these people are just plain idiots.

This POS is the embodiment of sleaze and dishonor, yet half the people in his district thing he's just fine with them?

It's still going to be very hard to unseat him, and with his track record it's clear that he will stop at nothing to be re-elected. Don't count this psychopath out yet. It's going to take a herculean effort to pry his fat ass out of that Congressional seat.

[IronLionZion]

46. If you drove around his district in 2004

You would have seen a surprising number of Bush and Morrison (D) signs. A good Texan Democrat can throw that criminal out on his ass in 2006.

If the Republicans can take down Tom Daschle, then we can take down Tom Delay. Get your game face on. :grr:

[GOPBasher]

48. This is AWESOME! Now run for president, Delay!!!

I hope to God he runs for president. And I hope to God he wins the nomination; it is possible given the extreme right-ward trend of the Republican party these days. If that happens, we may be able to win the election even WITH some rigged voting machines.

[President Kerry]

56. with Diebold machines??

no, thanks.. I'll pass on that prospect.

[GOPBasher]

77. Well, I agree, I'm not interested in seeing what happens

if they have the machines on their side again. I'm just saying that if Delay is their candidate, they'd have trouble winning despite the machines. But of course, our central purpose for the next few years should be to ensure fair elections.

[depakid]

49. But the poor dumb bastards keep voting for him

There must be something in their water. Organophosphates, maybe?

[tinonedown]

50. He had support?

From whom?!

[raysr]

53. I bet he's

still got all his exterminating gear.

[PurityOfEssence]

55. Pour resources in and Daschle him

If we can't take the House back in '06, we're just slobbering ninnies of the worst kind. It's time for some brutal mudslinging: call 'em haters of the poor, warmongers, freeloaders and greedhead thugs. Social Security alone should be enough to do it: people who abuse the weak and old are on political thin ice.

[mcg]

67. They do hate the poor, and they want there to be poverty.

They have contempt for the poor.

It became clearer to me recently, the right wing wants there to be poverty for a number of reasons. First, it makes them feel superior, there is a "lower" class they can look down on. It makes them feel like more of a "winner". Their idea is that people who suffer from poverty somehow deserve it and that they are poor because they are "lazy" (i.e. inferior). Second, it makes them richer. Third, without there being a safety net, it gives them more power over people. It's ironic that they claim to be religious but practice Social Darwinism.

[Erika]

69. The rich depend on the poor

for their extreme profits. Without the oppression of the lower working class, the rich could not be as rich. Bush's new caste system for the U.S.

[CitySky]

61. a twist -

It's possible that DeLay will crash and burn SO fast that local R's will have time to get their act together and field a viable R alternative for the '06 R primary. Then in Fall '06 we could be looking at "New-and-Improved-Republican" v. Richard Morrison. It will get interesting either way.

It's important to focus on shaping and communicating the Democratic message, in DeLay's district and everywhere. If we just win this one seat, but the House remains and R. majority, another hog will jostle to that place at the trough. Cleaning up the U.S. House of Representatives is going to take more than taking down this one man.

[Laurab]

62. And like the idiot he is

instead of keeping a very low profile, which would be the smartest thing he could do right now, he's out there spewing his nonsense louder and louder.

I think, after reading Cheney's comments, Delay is gone. I wish he'd be gone to jail, but I guess you can't have everything.

[ClintonTyree]

63. Delay is of the opinion....

that a good offense is the best defense. I his case, he is SO offensive that this strategy will crumble under the weight of his offensiveness. :silly: Does that make sense?

[Laurab]

64. It makes perfect sense to me

and I think you're right. Obviously he doesn't realize how offensive he is, so it's a great strategy and I hope he keeps it up!

[mcg]

66. GOP is getting concerned

An article from March 14th:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32389-2005Mar13.html

"If death comes from a thousand cuts, Tom DeLay is into a couple hundred, and it's getting up there," said a Republican political consultant close to key lawmakers. "The situation is negatively fluid right now for the guy. You start hitting arteries, it only takes a couple."

[MadisonProgressive]

68. toast

[Voltaire99]

70. "11 percent whose view of him has improved"

No fair asking the Abu Ghraib torturers their opinion.

[BlueIris]

71. Oh, I know, that part made me go: AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!

"Improved"?! ::whines::

[BlueIris]

72. Oh, I know, that part made me go: AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!

"Improved"?! ::whines::

[Swamp Rat]

76. Back to killing roaches, DeLay