As the mid-term elections near, convicted Republican hyper lobbyist Jack Abramoff may well be the gift that keeps on giving for Democrats. Even as the GOP rushes to drop its Abramoff-tainted candidates from ballots in Ohio and Texas, its political problems only build.
In Ohio, six-term Republican Representative and Abramoff golfing buddy Bob Ney dropped out of his race against surging Democratic challenger Zack Space. But State Senator Joy Padgett, Ney's hand-picked successor, may be ineligible to run under Ohio election law. Padgett's limbo status complicates the effort by House Majority Leader and fellow Ohioan John Boehner to hold the 18th district for the GOP.
Meanwhile, back in Sugarland, Texas, former House Majority Leader Tom Delay continues to get hammered in his effort to remove his name from the November ballot. Delay, who won the GOP primary for his district this spring, resigned from Congress in June. But every court has rejected Republican efforts to strike Delay's name from the ballot. The latest rebuke came on Monday from none other than Supreme Court Justice and reliable Republican Antonin Scalia. Despite earlier rumors that Delay might seek to run once again, Time and other sources report he is now pushing for a Republican write-in candidate for November.
For the latest news, legal developments and other key documents regarding Tom Delay, Jack Abramoff and friends, visit the Perrspectives Delay-Abramoff Scandal Resource Center.