Update (TL): MSNBC says the AP is reporting that Denny Hastert has named California Congressman David Dreier to replace DeLay as Speaker of the House.
Update (by TChris): DeLay steps down:
"I have notified the speaker that I will temporarily step aside from my position as majority leader pursuant to rules of the House Republican Conference and the actions of the Travis County district attorney today," DeLay said.
As noted above, Dennis Hastert is recommending David Dreier for the leadership role.
Some of the duties may go to the GOP whip, Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri. The Republican rank and file may meet as early as Wednesday night to act on Hastert's recommendation.
Update (by TChris): President Bush assures us that he still considers his indicted friend to be "an effective leader in Congress." Perhaps DeLay will lead other Republicans to their own indictments. Scott McClellan joins the praise of indicted DeLay, calling him a "good ally" of the administration.
Here's one view of "what's at stake" now that this effective Republican leader has lost his majority leadership position. This LA Times article suggests that "even as Bush tries to recover from the political setbacks of the struggle in Iraq and the criticism of his administration's initial response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, he is facing a third political storm front": Republican ethics.
Update (by TChris): In typical DeLay fashion, the initial response is a smear: "DeLay called [prosecutor] Earle an 'unabashed partisan zealot' and a 'fanatic.'" (Transcript here.) It turns out that this alleged partisan fanatic has pursued more Democrats than Republicans as he's prosecuted political corruption cases in Texas. See the comments to this post by webmacher. Similar information is reported here at Daily Kos.
Update (2 cents worth from LNILR; sorry TChris): Get three criminal defense lawyers involved in anything, and what do you get? We all have the innate longing, indeed, the compulsion, to devoutly work to preserve the presumption of innocence, yet we must tell our clients to "hold on to your ankles, because the worst is yet to come." Many are in denial and refuse to accept reality. Sounds like DeLay. I also note the oxymoron above: "Rebublican ethics." Okay, we give "them" the benefit of the doubt on that, too. I know a Republican or two, and they have ethics, impeccable ethics. They aren't in Congress, either. And, you don't see their hypocrisy on television every night. Particularly laughable was DeLay ranting about the partisan prosecutor. CNN.com: "'I have done nothing wrong,' DeLay told reporters. 'I have violated no law, no regulation, no rule of the House.'" What did you expect? A confession? More, and better: "'I have done nothing unlawful, unethical or, I might add, unprecedented,' DeLay said." So, it isn't a crime because others did it? Read the indictment. It reads like a money laundering indictment used to corrupt the political system in Texas and the U.S. House by manipulating the apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives. Why is the U.S. Attorney not on it? The allegations sound like that should be a federal crime to me. But, the U.S. Attorney's a Republican. DeLay: "Check." Travis DA Earle: "Checkmate." With the feds in his back pocket, he couldn't control the state prosecutor. Mark Twain wrote in 1895 that "It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native criminal class except Congress." The Republicans have used government like their own private Monopoly game since Bush allowed them to run rampant. "What goes around comes around."
Republicans hate "trial lawyers." How many will the Exterminator hire? They hate us until they are on the back end of "State of Texas v. _____."
Update (by TChris): Next step: booking (fingerprints and mug shot). DeLay's lawyer, wisely enough, is trying to avoid the perp walk that most high profile defendants endure.
The linked article suggests that DeLay might pursue a speedy trial. That strategy worked for O.J., helping a well-prepared team catch prosecutors off guard. Earle has been working the case for a long time, and presumably knows it well; the same is probably true of DeLay's defense team. Whether a speedy trial would give DeLay a real advantage is unclear. It is clear, however, that DeLay's career is shot while he's burdened by this charge. He can only salvage his political life if he prevails, and he needs to do that quickly if his political life is to retain any vigor.
Update (by TChris): Dreier is apparently too bland for the Republican party, and Hastert too powerless to engineer his installation in DeLay's stead. Roy Blunt, a DeLay clone, has been chosen to replace DeLay. Meet the new boss ...
Like DeLay, Blunt has been dogged by ethics issues.
Update (by LNILR): As Talkleft noted above, DeLay's penchant for graft has led him to violate House rules and take lobbyist money for his legal defense. I'm sure that pleases the defense lawyers, so they can get paid, but it means that the House now has to bite the bullet and investigate that mess, too.
DeLay reminds me of the prison bully shived in the shower and mercilessly (or mercifully, depending on the shivee's predicament) allowed to bleed to death without calling for help. There are more justifiable forms of prison justice that come to mind that don't involve getting stabbed, but they do involve sticking things in the body. Now maybe DeLay will get on the bandwagon for prison reform and eliminating mandatory minimums.
Remember the movie "The Ref" (1994)?
"Connie Chasseur: Who would catch a criminal, and then let him go free? Mary Chasseur: Republicans."
