Baby steps for the D.C. bureau
Gebe Martinez has a decent column on House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R) in today's Chronicle that is a step up from what usually comes from the Chron on DeLay, in that it's not simply a "bad guy" profile.
For those who don't understand (or just hate to admit) DeLay's popularity among his Republican colleagues, here are a couple of useful excerpts:
Though his combative reputation can intimidate foes, House members point to a softer side that comes through in his dealings with them.
He studies members, knowing their likes and dislikes, whether they smoke, stay up late or have personal issues, and if they want to run for higher office, said Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-San Antonio. "Even if you are a high-maintenance member, he will stand there and look into your eyes. If he cannot help you, he will tell you why and look you in the face."
Moderates who do not always agree with him on policy praise his keen awareness of members' political needs. "He's working all the time, and he's always raising money for members," said Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va.
"You see him out there furthering the majority. One of the ways he does it is through political tactics. He's not breaking the law. He does it very legally. It's just creative work," said Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash., who is retiring this year.
He's been one of the most active builders of his party in recent times. He also, of course, knows how to round up votes when it matters:
When the House took up major Medicare changes in 2003, DeLay encouraged fiscal conservatives to hold out for a law that would give private health insurance companies the incentive to compete for Medicare dollars.
Then, when the day came to pass the bill, which did not fully satisfy the conservatives, he scrambled with the rest of the leadership to find the votes.
The House passed the bill by one vote after some controversial arm-twisting by DeLay and other House leaders.
Love him or hate him, Republicans recognize him as a strong nuts-and-bolts party leader.
Now, it wouldn't be a Chron article without descents into silliness.
Here's Martinez on defeated Representative Chris Bell (D):
The redistricting caused Bell to lose in the Democratic primary, and he later filed numerous charges against DeLay with the ethics committee, emphasizing allegations of improper campaign fund raising.
The voters caused Chris Bell to lose in the redrawn district he ran in. The redrawn district was not as friendly to Bell as his former district, but voters decide elections.
And there's this:
Sometimes, DeLay will drive an issue before the president is ready.
He was ahead of the administration in making public pronouncements in 2002 on going to war with Iraq, and he has nudged Bush into a more aggressive defense of Israel.
Martinez overreaches with this. The Bush Administration has been aggressively pro-Israel without need for any nudging from a U.S. Representative, and it's not exactly as if DeLay dragged a reluctant administration along on Iraq.
Still, this is improvement from the D.C. bureau. Baby steps.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/19/04 09:33 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Sphere | Comments (0)
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