DeRailed?

There was some good news in today's Houston Chronicle: Tom DeLay, an 11-term incumbent, may have succeeded in making himself vulnerable to electoral defeat. The link discusses the Zogby poll in some detail.

Nearly 40 percent of the 501 voters questioned Wednesday through Friday said their opinion of the powerful Sugar Land Republican is less favorable than last year, compared with 11 percent who said their view of him has improved.

Half of the respondents gave DeLay a somewhat or very favorable rating.

Yet 45 percent said they would vote for someone other than DeLay if a congressional election in the 22nd District were at hand; 38 percent said they would stick with him.

And why might that be?

On the Schiavo issue, DeLay consistently has stated that his constituents backed his decision to lead Congress into the dispute over whether to continue nourishment to the severely brain-damaged Florida woman.

"Everywhere I went (in the district) people were ... very supportive of the efforts to try and save her," DeLay said Wednesday at Sugar Land Regional Airport.

But nearly 69 percent of people in the [Zogby] poll, including substantial majorities of Democrats and Republicans, said they opposed the government's intervention in the longstanding family battle.

Respondents in [a different survey by] the Chronicle ... also were critical of DeLay's individual role. Nearly 58 percent disapproved of his decision to get Congress involved.

I've already complained that DeLay is no champion of capitalism. Now, I see absolutely no redeeming quality in the man. I now agree with the old campaign slogan: "Improve Texas without DeLay."

-- CAV