Brownwood's Mike Conaway & Tom Delay

Freshman legislators stand by DeLay

07:23 AM CDT on Wednesday, May 18, 2005
By TODD J. GILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON – To a man, the five rookie Texas Republicans in Congress owe much of their political fortunes to Tom DeLay. The House majority leader pushed the Legislature to carve Texas into districts the newcomers could win, and he generously contributed to their campaigns.
Although each dreamed of coming to Washington, none figured on spending the first 100 days drawn into their benefactor's ethics brawl.
"It's been frustrating," said Rep. Michael McCaul of Austin, a former federal prosecutor. Congress has been highly productive, he said, but "all this good work we've done seems to be overshadowed" by the DeLay dispute.
Texas redistricting led to nearly all of the GOP's gains in House races last fall, while shoring up Mr. DeLay's standing. The House ethics committee admonished him three times last fall, and some Republican lawmakers have grown weary of defending him against more recent allegations involving lobbyist-paid trips and campaign law violations. But the Texas freshmen – conservatives from overwhelmingly Republican districts – remain among Mr. DeLay's staunchest defenders.
"We really know him as a close personal friend, and we really find the accusations unbelievable," said the only Dallas-area freshman, Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell, the former GOP floor leader in the Texas House, who's known Mr. DeLay for two decades. "For us, his leadership is natural. If anything, when someone questions that, we think, how could they possibly think that?"
All five have near-perfect records of siding with Mr. DeLay on roll call votes. Each backed an ethics package that Democrats viewed as an attempt to neuter the process and protect Mr. DeLay.
Two of them – former judges Ted Poe of Humble and Louie Gohmert of Tyler – felt so strongly about the rules, they refused to go along when the GOP retreated last month to end an ethics stalemate.
Such stances aren't likely to bite them politically, because the Legislature packed their districts with Republicans. Mr. Marchant coasted to Congress with nearly two-thirds of the vote. Two others topped 75 percent. The tightest race was Mr. Poe's, who won by 13 percentage points.
DeLay stalwarts
Mr. Marchant said his constituents care more about the energy bill, the inheritance tax and immigration, and he hasn't heard a single DeLay-related question at town hall meetings.
In Grand Prairie, at the corner of the district, Tommy Smelser, a retired telephone worker and former mayor pro tem, takes it in stride that the new congressmen are toeing the line for Mr. DeLay.
"I would be very cognizant of the fact that you don't tug on Superman's cape," he said.
Besides, said Mr. Smelser, who leads a statewide group of Democratic military veterans, "Democrats stick by each other. Republicans stick by each other. Birds of a feather. ... I can't say that that is something I detest about Republicans."
In Duncanville, City Council member Grady Smithey agreed that Mr. DeLay's troubles won't hurt Mr. Marchant, whose stance he faults. "There's too much smoke here for there not to be some fire."
Mr. Smithey was a longtime backer of Martin Frost, the Dallas Democrat who represented the 24th Congressional District for 26 years until the Legislature transformed it into the GOP turf Mr. Marchant now represents. Mr. Frost moved to a neighboring district and lost to Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas.
Mr. Smithey praised Mr. Marchant's efforts to secure highway funding.
"What they did in redistricting was abominable," he said. "But I've been happy with what Kenny has done for our area so far."
Quiet home front
While Mr. Marchant donated $5,000 to the DeLay legal fund, a West Texas colleague, Rep. Mike Conaway of Midland, is among a handful who gave money to another fund set up for the trio of DeLay associates indicted last fall in Austin on charges they funneled corporate cash to state House campaigns. Mr. Conaway gave $5,000 to the defense kitty.
"We live in a country where you're innocent until you're proven guilty," said Mr. Conaway, an accountant who worked for President Bush's former oil company, as chief financial officer for his oil company, Arbusto Energy. He called the allegations a "witch hunt to destroy Tom DeLay and his effectiveness."
Mr. Poe, a former trial judge in Houston, said he hasn't heard much from voters, and he figures they've already made up their minds. "The people that don't like him don't like him; the people do like him still like him," he said.
Mr. McCaul, whose district stretches from Austin to Houston, sits on the House committee that doles out chairmanships and other assignments. As a result, he's worked more closely than most with Mr. DeLay.
"They want to bring him down, but I don't think it's impacting his work," Mr. McCaul said. "It's a tired old story."
Collateral damage
One of the Texas freshmen has taken some heat because of Mr. DeLay, although indirectly.
Mr. Gohmert, a longtime trial judge, departed the bench last year when redistricting left four-term Democrat Max Sandlin vulnerable.
Heavily GOP areas of Smith and Gregg counties make his seat safe for Republicans. But he's still got plenty of "yellow dog" Democrats, and they're none too happy about Mr. DeLay.
"We want to see that pursued, all of us here in East Texas do," said James Wark, Democratic county chairman in Lufkin. "It could hurt him [Mr. Gohmert] down the road."
After revelations that Mr. DeLay had paid his wife and daughter about $500,000 through his campaign committees in the last five years, reporters and DeLay defenders dug through other lawmakers' records.
Mr. Gohmert was among the handful that turned up with relatives on the payroll.
Since last July, he has paid his wife, Kathy, $30,376, including a $7,500 bonus after his victory. Only campaign manager Keats Norfleet earned more. Mrs. Gohmert now fills that role as the sole member of a skeletal post-election staff, drawing $2,862 a month.
The congressman defends the arrangement, saying his wife gave up a full-time teaching job in February 2004 to help him run.
"By July, with neither one of us working, it was only fair to pay somebody that was working 60 to 80 hours a week, who knew the district, who people liked as well or better than me, and who I could completely trust," he said. "Somebody like her, with an MBA, she's being underpaid."
Mr. Gohmert has also drawn flak for defying Speaker Dennis Hastert on the decision to revert to the old ethics procedures. Only 20 GOP lawmakers, seven of them Texans, refused to go along.
The Longview News-Journal accused Mr. Gohmert of grandstanding, noting that even Mr. DeLay voted to return to the old rules.
Mr. Gohmert is unrepentant. "They were fair rules in January" when the House adopted them, he said. "They're still fair rules ... If you look at it, I'm the one who's not the hypocrite."
But in Smith County, where Mr. Gohmert collected one-third of his votes, Democratic chief Karen Roberts said she's not surprised he's turned out to be a strong DeLay ally.
"He owes his job to DeLay. They all owe their jobs to DeLay," she said. And she doubts it will cost him politically.
"In Smith County, a Republican would have to commit an ax murder on the public square before anyone would get upset."
E-mail tgillman@dallasnews.com
THE TIES THAT BIND

A look at Texas' five freshman representatives and their take on House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, whose redistricting efforts helped the Republican newcomers win election:
KENNY MARCHANT, Coppell
Received $11,000* from Mr. DeLay; gave $5,000 to the DeLay defense fund
"We really know him as a close personal friend, and we really find the accusations unbelievable."
TED POE, Humble
Received $5,000 from Mr. DeLay
"You got accusations against Tom DeLay ú prove 'em. Where I come from you just don't hang a guy until after the trial."
LOUIE GOHMERT, Tyler
Received $10,000 from Mr. DeLay
"Depends on what the ethics investigation turns up. In the meantime, there are some other people that need investigating."
MICHAEL McCAUL, Austin
Received $10,000 from Mr. DeLay
"You hear all sides of this issue, to be candid. But I can tell you he is the majority leader and he is from Texas, and that's a great asset for the state."
MIKE CONAWAY, Midland
Received $10,000 from Mr. DeLay, gave $5,000 to the fund set up for indicted DeLay aides
"We've had a rogue district attorney in Austin, Texas, [Democrat Ronnie Earle] that has been trying to bring down Tom DeLay for two years."
* Includes a $1,000 donation in February 2004 to the Marchant state House campaign from Texans for a Republican Majority. All other donations came from Americans for a Republican Majority.
SOURCE: Dallas Morning News research
source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/washington/stories/051805dnnatfreshmen.ba67ca89.html