On Capitol Hill, DeLay was known as the Hammer, a nickname he carried with pride. He pounded money out of donors, pounded votes out of colleagues and pounded Democrats for being Democrats.
And although he played a major part in the GOP taking control of Congress, his legal and political troubles are adding to the problems his party faces this fall in keeping its majority in the House.
The online magazine Slate once described DeLay's political style as "a tight smile and a knee in the groin," a combination that served fellow Texan George W. Bush and the president's agenda since 2001.
DeLay delivered, even when Republicans started to balk. He was the driving force in pushing through a Medicare prescription drug benefit the White House wanted in time for the 2004 re-election campaign, despite conservative complaints that it was too expensive. He also made sure earmark-laden budgets passed year after year.
But while DeLay kept Republicans marching in lockstep, he did so in a bare-knuckled manner that gave Bush little chance of ever changing the partisan tone in Washington, as he promised during his White House campaign.
DeLay seemed to have gone too far, though, when he forced Congress last year to intervene in the case of a brain-dead Florida woman, Terri Schiavo, then vowed that federal judges would "answer" for refusing to help him. He fired up the religious conservative base of the Republican Party, but public opinions polls showed the GOP losing the support of moderates and independents thereafter.
DeLay helped create super-charged partisanship, not only on Capitol Hill, but also along the K Street corridor of lobbyists. There, he muscled special interests for cash and organization, demanding the hiring of Republicans in order to get favorable legislation — "pay to play," as some critics describe it.
His legacy also includes stepped-up efforts by GOP-controlled state legislatures to redraw congressional district boundaries to achieve and sustain a Republican majority in Washington.
It was his aggressiveness in retaining a Republican majority that led to his downfall.
DeLay's effectiveness on Capitol Hill began to wane dramatically beginning last fall when a Travis County grand jury accused DeLay of violating state campaign finance rules while raising money for GOP candidates for the Texas Legislature. DeLay had pushed the Republicans he helped elect to the Legislature to redraw the Texas congressional map in 2002, cementing GOP control of Congress.
Months before the indictment, DeLay had sought to change the House rules to remain in his leadership post if he faced criminal charges. Public outcry kept the rules in place, and DeLay stepped down as majority leader once he was indicted, with hopes of reclaiming the post after a speedy trial.
But in recent months, as legal proceedings in Texas have dragged on, two of his former aides and longtime friend Jack Abramoff have pleaded guilty in a federal investigation of political corruption.
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