Delay's Posse

One good look at the list of Tom Delay's defense fund benefactors and you have a pretty good idea who is thanking him for all he has done for them. How long they will stick with Delay is another question, but for right now we have a who's who of the most powerful and influential right-wing political and corporate powers on his side.

A partial list of the corporate backers includes:

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
Philip Morris
American Trucking Association
BellSouth Corp
GAF Corp
GenCorp
Global Marine
International Game Technology
Lifecare Management Services
Maxxam Inc.
Nissan North America
Panda Energy International
Reliant Energy
Verizon Services Group

Individual contributions have come from some of the Right's best and brightest.

First, and most timely, there are three partners at Locke, Liddell & Sapp, Harriet Miers old Houston law firm.

On the Congressional payback front, Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) figured out how to give twice, through two different PACs. Other Congressional donors include: Roy Blount (R-MO), J.C. Watts (R-OK), Spencer Bacchus (R-AL), Charles Bass (R-NH), Henry Bonilla (R-TX), Randy Cunningham (R-CA), Paul Gilmor (R-OH), Bob Barr for Congress, John Cooksey (R-LA), Jimmy Duncan (R-TN), Eric Cantor (R-VA), and the list goes on and on.

Other notables include the DeVos Family of Amway fame, Ed Feulner of the Heritage Foundation, the Fund for Living American Government (like the one we have now?), Boone Pickens of BP Capital, and Roy Blount's Rely on Your Beliefs Fund (I love the names these guys come up with).

My two favorites are the contributions from Spirit of Democratic Capitalism Fund and from Your Way Fumigation. The latter must be old friends of Delay's from when he was in the pest control business. The former, however, really leaves me in stitches. Democratic capitalism? Is that where the consumers get to vote on how large corporations profits can be? Or is it when the stockholders vote on what products a company develops? and whether they are environmentally friendly? Or is democratic capitalism just another doublethink phrase designed by the Right to pull the wool over the American people's eyes?

So far, Delay has raised almost a half million dollars. He'll need alot more. Two indictments down, more to come?

Stay Tuned.