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WASHINGTON
Since 2000, members of North Carolina's congressional delegation have received more than $70,000 in contributions from Rep. Tom DeLay, the embattled House majority leader.
The figures aren't unusual by Washington standards. But they do illustrate a connection of common interests between DeLay, R-Texas, and members of the state's congressional delegation. All told, he has donated close to $2.8 million in the past five years to federal candidates, including several unsuccessful candidates in North Carolina.
"This is a way for him to curry favor with other members and to be seen as a team player," said Larry Noble, the executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan organization that monitors money in politics.
According to analysis by the center, Rep. Robin Hayes, R-8th, was the big winner in North Carolina. He has received nearly $30,000 in contributions from DeLay's leadership political-action committee since the 2000 election cycle.
Hayes, who usually has run in moderately competitive races, said that the money - which is completely legal - does not cloud his view of DeLay.
"When I give money to others, should I expect anything in return?" Hayes asked. "The only thing they would owe me is their best effort to do the right thing."
Campaign-finance laws stipulate that a candidate can receive no more $10,000 total ($5,000 for the primary election and $5,000 for the general election) from a political-action committee in any given election cycle.
Noble said that the fact that DeLay was giving the maximum to candidates was important because it demonstrates he is doing "all that he can for them."
The only Republican members of the North Carolina delegation who have not received money from DeLay's Americans for a Republican Majority PAC are Sen. Elizabeth Dole, Rep. Howard Coble, R-8th, and Rep. Sue Myrick, R-9th.
Larry Sabato, the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said that although the amount of money from DeLay might not be that large, it opens doors to even more money down the road. Once donors see that DeLay has given money, they would be more likely to help a member in need, he said.
"In North Carolina, there are only a couple of districts that are competitive, so all the members know they could count on Tom DeLay to come up with hundreds of thousands of dollars in a hurry" from other sources, Sabato said.
DeLay, a champion of conservative causes, has been a lightning rod for Democrats for years. He engineered a redistricting plan in his native Texas that forced the retirement of several veteran Democratic congressmen in 2004, and subsequently increased the Republican majority in the House.
He has also been the subject of several ethics investigations. He has recently come under fire for his role in the Terri Schiavo case and for criticizing the judiciary, including Justice Anthony Kennedy of the U.S. Supreme Court. On Sunday, The Washington Post reported that a lobbyist paid for overseas travel for DeLay, something House rules prohibit.
The House, under increased pressure from outside groups, voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to change ethics rules that had been protecting DeLay from further investigations.
Republicans have quietly begun to fear that the added scrutiny of DeLay is hurting the party. So far only one Republican member of the House, Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut, has called on DeLay to resign.
From http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031782447772&path=!localnews&s=1037645509099