Beginning in 1995, DeLay put together by far the most effective whip's operation I have seen in my 49 years of watching Congress. At the same time, he joined the vanguard of what came to be called the New Right and became an ally of its leader, Paul Weyrich. Each Wednesday at noon, DeLay would preside over the meeting of right-wing pressure groups put together by Weyrich. He had become a leader of the national conservative movement.
Thus, DeLay emerged a contradiction in terms: a whip and an appropriator who was committed to a conservative agenda. He pressed for free trade, tax cuts, Social Security personal accounts and private health care accounts, as well as social conservative issues. As a Christian (Baptist), he participated in private Bible study groups.
There is no sign of extravagant living on DeLay's part -- only bad judgment. DeLay told me last year that he accepted lobbyist-arranged golf abroad because that was his only chance ever to play a game he dearly loved. The shrewd congressional leader did not perceive the dangers facing him when he took that course.
DeLay's greatest peril is the federal investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff that now has moved into the heart of the former majority leader's office, with two former aides pleading guilty. This has cut into DeLay's formerly solid base of support in his home district and led him to decide this week that any other Republican would have a better chance of retaining the congressional seat.
But what about the greed and mendacity of some of the bright young people who worked for Tom DeLay? The suspicion is that the power politics he practiced for the public good was transmuted by those aides into their private gain. It is a stain on what the legacy should be for the most effective legislator of his time.