Four of every five House Republicans have received campaign contributions from DeLay, and he has traveled across the country to raise millions more. DeLay's absence as the No. 2 House leader is being treated by his colleagues as temporary, until his legal situation is resolved.
His former aides are in powerful posts throughout Washington. Former chiefs of staff are prominent lobbyists, including Tim Berry, who just went to work for Time Warner. Other former aides represent top corporations — FedEx, Verizon, Microsoft, Pfizer, Motorola, Walt Disney, ChevronTexaco — and key trade groups.
The former aides multiply DeLay's clout by steering money from their wealthy clients to help DeLay and GOP causes. In 2002, former DeLay legislative director Drew Maloney, a lobbyist, rounded up $152,500 from energy corporations for DeLay's leadership PAC. The money bought entree to an exclusive golf outing at the Homestead resort in western Virginia, as Congress was putting the final touches on a major energy bill, according to records compiled for a House ethics investigation.
Lobbyist Richard Bornemann described the need to donate in a confidential memo to his client, the electric utility Western Resources (now Westar Energy): "The most beneficial way to spend corporate dollars — as opposed to cutting personal or PAC (political action committee) checks — is with the House leadership. That means joining the fold, so to speak, of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay." The memo was posted on the House ethics committee's website.
"DeLay knows that reciprocity is the strongest norm in Washington," said James Thurber of American University. "The clients know they have a relationship and that they have to come up with the money. It's very clear to them, and they do it."
