The Wall Street Journal Takes Aim at DeLay

Posted on April 16, 2005

The Wall Street Journal fired off another volley at embattled House Majority Leader Tom Delay Friday. After previously taking him to task for the large salaries he pays family members out of campaign fund, the Journal now takes aim at what is by far more serious ethics charges: the lavish trips taken by the DeLay family paid for by various corporations and shadowy Russian businessmen.

As winter storms battered the country this January, Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas and his wife, Christine, flew to Hawaii. They stayed at the Big Island's Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel with views of what Cond� Nast Traveler calls America's No. 1 beach. Mr. DeLay also played on an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course that climbs from the shoreline to a 700-foot-high bluff overlooking the ocean.
The DeLays' five-day trip cost $10,000, according to congressional travel records, but they didn't pay for it. Instead, the tab was picked up by corporations and trade organizations that represent U.S. airports and airlines. The Republican leader's sole obligation was to participate in a panel discussion on the first morning of the annual aviation conference of the American Association of Airport Executives. More than 40 lawmakers and staffers from both parties also attended the conference.

The article goes on to describe many such trips paid for by corporations who lobby for legislative favors, as well as many other trips for government staffers that are paid for by taxpayers.

So long as the family members are performing legitimate services for a member of Congress, it's legal. Many members of Congress hire family members to work on their campaigns, which is fair. What is more bothersome is the growing influence of lobbyists and other shadowy groups on Congress.

So, how much fun did Tom DeLay have on his all-expenses paid vacation to Hawaii? Well, to begin with, his flight was delayed by one day due to severe weather. When he finally stepped off the plane at Kona International Airport (no doubt expecting a Hawaiian beauty to lovingly hang a lei around his youthful, plastic surgery-enhanced neck), he got more bad news. In a cruel twist of fate, he was informed that his luggage had been lost.