Tom Delay bowed out of the re-election campaign for his Congressional seat this fall. It may be a GOP strategy to attempt to campaign on a record of conduct that has resulted in criminal indictments on counts of money laundering and other deceitful crimes of moral turpitude. But a rational person would acknowledge that the behavior, even if he believed that criminal conviction is unlikely, raises sufficient questions of character and judgment to disqualify that person from high elective office. At the very least, one would step back and get the indictments resolved and return to political campaigning after being exonerated.
However, in the case of Tom Delay, one would not expect rational thought or action. Nor would the acknowledgement of the need to address legitimate concerns be uppermost in his mind. Delay's style of politics is that there is no such thing as right or wrong, legal or illegal. There is only winning and losing, successful strategy or defeated strategy. His opponents are "enemies" and not simply colleagues that have differing views or philosophies. This mindset is undoubtedly what got him into his current situation. But one has to accept that the public has tolerated, and possibly even encouraged, such amoral leadership. Delay has been cheered on and elected to Congressional leadership for his style of "take no prisoners" and "never take no for an answer" approach to party leadership and discipline. You either voted with Tom Delay or you were politically targeted for extinction. Huge amounts of money, regardless of the source, was amassed and distributed in exchange for voters and support. Former aides were positioned as infiltrators and watchdogs in influential lobbying organizations to make sure that the organizations gave kickbacks to Delay's regime and to assure that the compliant lobbying organizations got access and votes in return for their loyalty and monetary support.
As with any powerful organization built upon greed, intimidation and influence peddling, growth of the enterprise creates peril for the organization itself. When loyalty is born out of fear and distrust, or out of shady dealings, the "faithful" frequently seek any serious opportunity for control or revenge. When illegal activity is involved, it is nearly impossible to keep all the lies straight. Consequently, when a major player in such an organization is placed under intense scrutiny, as in a criminal indictment, the risk of subordinates turning "state's evidence" or "ratting out" their superiors becomes inevitable.
And this perhaps explains the timing of Delay's decision not to run for re-election and resign from Congress. A former chief aide has just entered into a plea bargain in exchange for his cooperation in the investigation of Delay and his confederates. Other associates have already cooperated, and it must have seemed inevitable to Delay that his intimidation and bullying tactics were not going to succeed in dismissal of the charges against him. So, by resigning and dropping out of the Congressional seat race, Delay can avoid public embarrassment and use his cache of campaign funds to pay his defense lawyers.
The public face of defiance that Delay is putting on is consistent with his mindset and public image. He probably believes that he has not engaged in, and indeed was not capable of," wrongdoing or illegal activity. Anyone challenging or accusing him of misconduct are just "poor losers" or left wing "liberals" who are only out to damage him politically. He must have a very difficult time thinking or listening to his attorneys’ advice that his behavior could be judges objectively to be unlawful. Since he has viewed himself as above the law, all this hubbub must seem very strange to a man like Tom Delay. If he goes down fighting, it will not be on the basis that his cause is "just." His defiance will be based upon his belief that he simply cannot lose, because the ends [his goals and objectives] justified any means used to achieve them.
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