The Corruption Peddling of Tom Delay Still Plagues the Republican Party

- U.S. House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH), who replaced Delay in his leadership position, remains mired in many of the same ethical troubles that face Tom Delay - and was once reprimanded for passing out checks from tobacco lobbyists to politicians on the House floor.

- While former political aides to Tom Delay face criminal charges for corruption, others are now choosing to follow their former boss by running for Congress despite ethical questions. Included is Republican Peter Roskam, who is challenging Democrat and Iraqi war veteran Tammy Duckworth in the open 6th Congressional District of Illinois.

- Voters in California will have the opportunity next week to replace former Republican Congressman Duke Cunningham, who was recently sentenced to prison on corruption charges. The special election in California's 50th Congressional District on April 11 sees many former lobbyists running as Republicans. Democrat Francine Busby continues to lead opinion polls in this Republican stronghold by championing the values of anti-corruption.

Anti-Gay Lobbyists Continue Their Grip on the GOP In Wake of Tom Delay

- Anti-gay lobby groups praised Tom Delay when the former Republican Majority Leader was indicted for corruption. "The Family Research Council is not a fair-weather friend," said FRC President Tony Perkins in response to the indictment. Perkins told contributors to the Family Research Council in an email that "Many Democrats want to turn the indictment of Tom DeLay into an indictment of the ideas he champions," referring to the anti-gay positions shared by Delay and the Family Research Council. FRC is now actively working with Delay's replacement, House Republican Leader John Boehner.

- Last week, anti-gay activist Jerry Falwell told the Lynchburg News & Advance that Senator John McCain (R-AZ) had assured him of his commitment to social issues important to Falwell, and that McCain would deliver the keynote graduation address at Falwell's Liberty University this spring. “I was in Washington with him about three months ago,” Falwell told the paper. “We dealt with every difference we have. There are no deal breakers now. But I told him, ‘You have a lot of fence mending to do.’”

- Noted Republican "moderates" like Rudy Giuliani and John McCain have spent large amounts of money and time this year campaigning for anti-gay candidates. On Tuesday, April 11, Senator McCain will headline a fundraiser for Republican Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, who is running for governor. Blackwell was a chief architect of the campaign to pass Ohio's anti-marriage ban, and has made his role in crafting the ban a central theme of his campaign.

- Rudy Giuliani endorsed Republican fringe-candidate Charlie Whinburn in his failed campaign for the Republican nomination for Mayor of Cincinnati in 2005. Whinburn is a long-time anti-gay activist who began his career by organizing efforts to repeal the city's non-discrimination protections because they included protections against discrimination based solely on sexual orientation. He has also called on voters to only elect Christians to public office.

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National Stonewall Democrats is the only national organization of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Democrats, with more than 90 local chapters across the nation. NSD is committed to working through the Democratic Party to advance the rights of all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

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