january 23, 2006

Tom DeLay Speaks

I had a chance to interview Congressman Tom DeLay and his wife Christine last week in Houston Texas. The full story will air next Thursday February 2, but below are some excerpts from my conversation with them. I found them to be very genuine. They clearly feel that the mainstream media has done them a disservice, and the former House Majority Leader says his lawyers look at everything he does so he feels comfortable that he will NOT be implicated in the Jack Abramoff mess.

Tom DeLay on calling Jack Abramoff a dear and close friend:
Brody: Do you resent that you ever said something like that?

DeLay: No, I have to say Abramoff was my friend. I have a lot of friends. He was my friend. I should not be held responsible for his actions. I treated him legally and ethically. I've done nothing wrong in my relationship with him.

Brody: Your critics will say that when Abramoff starts to testify that you'll be in the middle of all of this. Are you worried about any of this?

DeLay: Not at all. My lawyers have checked it out. I don't do anything without because I know they're watching me very closely. I feel very confident that there is nothing there. I've done nothing wrong, nothing illegal, and when all of this is said and done I won't be part of the process.

Tom DeLay on ethics violations:
DeLay: I have never acted in an unethical manner. I've never broken the House rules. I've never broken the law, and yet in the national media you think that I should be in prison.

 

Tom DeLay on why he gave up the House Leadership Position:
Brody: How hard was it to give up that House leadership position?

DeLay: Well, I'm not sure I can answer that the way you put it David. I have always tried to do the right thing, what's in the best interests of the conservative cause. I can still fight the fight. I don't have to be Majority leader to fight, and I'm passionate in what I believe in, and I can still be passionate without being Majority leader.
Brody: How much pressure did you feel like you were under to give up that House Leadership position?

DeLay: I felt no pressure at all. What I was looking at is what allows us to advance our agenda and what is the best organization in our conference to do that."

Tom DeLay on Anger:
Brody: Who are you angry at?

DeLay: I'm really not angry. My faith has sustained me. I struggle with loving your enemies, and I try my best to love me enemies and pray for my enemies but I'm not angry.

Tom DeLay on the future:
DeLay: God has a plan. I don't know what the outcome is. None of us know. I walk in what I think is the will of the Lord and make my decisions everyday based upon that and I have no regrets.

Tom and Christine DeLay on the Democrats:
Tom: All they have is the politics of personal destruction and character assassination.

Christine: And the liberal media.

Tom: And the liberal media.

Christine: That's huge.

Brody: How do you fight it?

DeLay: You get up everyday, you get on your knees, and you ask God's strength and he gives it to you and you get through today."

Tom DeLay on his enemies:
Brody: Do you feel like you may have made too many enemies to the point where now it's becoming too much of an uphill climb?

DeLay: I don't think it's too much of an uphill climb, but you're right-- I've made a lot of enemies.

Tom DeLay on trying to pay his legal bills:
DeLay: I have spent over two million dollars last year alone, and Christine and I are not wealthy. We have to rely on other people to raise the money.

Christine DeLay on the negative stories about her husband.
Christine: It's very difficult to hear people say lies, to lie about the person that you love the very most in the whole wide world. Thank Goodness I have a strong faith, or I don't know how somebody gets through without that.

Christine DeLay on the Mainstream Media.
Christine: They don't like Tom DeLay because Tom DeLay has been very effective in making some serious changes in this country. I didn't think this could happen in America. I didn't think you could be this falsely maligned and so many people believe it because of the media. They just feed you what you want to know, and they don't always feed you the truth. In fact, they hardly feed you the truth.

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