“Tom DeLay” on The Daily Caller

On Tuesday, while most of us were preparing to play the State of the Union drinking game, the Wall Street Journal ran a fascinating article on its front page exposing the role that short-sellers, those investment gurus who bet on specific stock prices falling, have been playing in the development of federal guidelines regulating for-profit colleges. Advocacy by these investors runs the gamut from initiating letter-writing campaigns to testifying before Congress in the hopes of passing rules that would seriously hinder these colleges’ bottom lines — forcing, you guessed it, their stocks to drop. (more)

Former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is the latest politician headed to jail. (more)

Former House Majority Leader Tom Delay, Texas Republican, was sentenced on Monday to three years in prison for his involvement in a money laundering scheme. He faced a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to the Associated Press. (more)

1.) John Shadegg: House GOP is ‘on probation’ — After 16 years in the House, Rep. John Shadegg is retiring to Arizona. The Daily Caller’s Jon Ward caught up with the son of Barry Goldwater altar ego Stephen Shadegg on his way out the door. Ward asked him, for instance, what makes the Tea Party different from previous conservative waves, such as Newt Gingrich’s 1994 production, in which Shadegg had a walk-on part as a newly elected congressman. “When the Gingrich revolution happened, the Gingrich revolution collapsed,” Shadegg told Ward. “It had betrayed its supporters.” By “it” Shadegg means Republican detractors and other “old bulls” like Tom DeLay, who claimed in 2005 that the government could not cut its spending any further. Now the party is getting a second chance, Shadegg said. “What happens to this class? Does this class get turned by Washington? Does the class change or does this class actually change Washington? I personally think that’s the $64,000 question.” Or, you know, the $1.7 trillion question. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The 2010 census report coming out Tuesday will include a boatload of good political news for Republicans and grim data for Democrats hoping to re-elect President Barack Obama and rebound from last month’s devastating elections. (more)

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, California Republican and incoming GOP Whip, has chosen Time Warner lobbyist Tim Berry as his chief of staff, his office confirmed Friday. (more)

For Tim Berry, a top Republican lobbyist for Time Warner, the timing couldn’t have been worse. (more)

In the past month, I have watched two close friends fall victim to the growing criminalization of American politics. On November 15th, my former legislative director, Kevin Ring, was found guilty by a Washington, DC jury of five counts of public corruption, four of which involved the “honest services” fraud statute. Then, just last week, my former colleague in the House, Tom DeLay, was found guilty in Texas of money laundering. In both cases, prosecutors stretched criminal laws to cover activities that they clearly were not intended to cover. The results reflect a movement by headline-seeking prosecutors to change the law without action by the legislative branch. These prosecutions have shaken my confidence in our nation’s criminal justice system and convince me that the incoming Congress should conduct careful oversight over the abuse of prosecutorial discretion. (more)

Before he was convicted this week of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering, former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay blamed a “rogue” Texas district attorney and Democrats for indicting him so that he would be removed from his powerful position in Congress. (more)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A jury in Texas has convicted former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on charges he illegally funneled corporate money to Texas candidates in 2002. (more)

Texas jurors in the money laundering trial of former U.S. House Speaker Tom DeLay have resumed their deliberations. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite suffering near-historic election losses this month, House Democrats moved closer Wednesday to keeping their leadership team intact, with Nancy Pelosi of California still on top. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised four years ago that Democrats would lead “the most honest, most open, most ethical Congress in history.” (more)

The Justice Department has informed former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) that the government has ended a six-year investigation of his ties to the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to DeLay’s lead counsel in the matter, Richard Cullen, chairman of McGuireWoods. (more)

Editor’s note: Bloomberg reporter Ryan Donmoyer wanted readers to know the context in which he wondered whether tea party members “parallel” Nazis. Below is the full thread in which the quote occurred. (more)

On the eve of a key vote in the Senate on an issue in which Wal-Mart is deeply invested, the company announced it is donating $20 million to charities and opening scores of new stores in the Chicago area, in the home state of Sen. Dick Durbin, Illinois Democrat, the retail giant’s top ally in its push to cap credit card fees. (more)

In Ancient Rome, it was the poor people who lived in the suburbs. The rich lived in the city center, close to work, close to entertainment, close to all the finest restaurants (or the Roman version of restaurant). (more)

Unless you want to be in a minority party for the rest of time, you need to start being competitive with voters in the 18-35 age range. Sure, we haven’t been the most prolific voters historically. But things are about to get serious, and if you think we’ll continue to stay at home on Election Day you’re wrong. The good news is that we’re open-minded enough to listen, if you talk the right way. Here’s how:  (more)

Former Republican House leader Tom DeLay said Sunday that he’s “rooting for the Tea Party activists,” warning Republicans that they “better welcome these people in” to win in 2010. (more)

Appearing today on NBC’s Meet the Press, Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform, insisted that Democrats have the necessary votes to pass comprehensive health care reform. (more)