Burnt Orange Report

Anyone else see a Theme?

By Byron LaMasters

Repeat after me. Repeat in every congressional district where ARMPAC has dumped money. ARMPAC money is DeLay money. DeLay money is dirty money. Dirty money is very, very bad. If you have dirty money, you should give it back. If you don't give back dirty money then you're just a typical corrupt, worthless, no-good Tom DeLay lackey congressional pawn, and it's about time you got the boot.

Every Democrat in a race against an ARMPAC Republican should hammer away at the issue and demand that the Republican return their check. A brief google search shows the issue taking hold in House races across the country:

TX-1:

A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Max Sandlin on Wednesday challenged Republican congressional candidate Louie Gohmert to return "tainted cash" he has received from groups affiliated with U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

[...]

"As a young man, my parents taught me to never revel in the troubles of others, so I was disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that three of Tom DeLay's top lieutenants, and many of his cash contributors, were indicted for illegal campaign activity," Sandlin, D-Marshall, said in a statement.

Gohmert, whose campaign has received $10,000 from Americans for a Republican Majority, said Wednesday that the investigation should have no bearing on his campaign to unseat Sandlin in the 1st Congressional District.

AZ-1 (PDF file):

The Paul Babbitt campaign today called on Rick Renzi to return $15,000 in campaign funds from ARMPAC, a political committee named in felony indictments in Texas and run by House GOP Leader Tom DeLay (TX). ARMPAC’s executive director Jim Ellis and other aides to DeLay were indicted yesterday by a grand jury for money laundering, a first-degree felony.

“Rick Renzi has received thousands of dollars from a political committee involved in a felony money laundering scheme. Rep. Renzi should immediately give Tom DeLay his tainted money back,” said Paul Babbitt.

Using an accounting trick that credited a March 2003 contribution of $5,000 to the previous election cycle as “debt retirement,” Renzi has accepted $5,000 more than from ARMPAC than the legal limit of $10,000 per election cycle.

CT-2:

U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, R-2nd District, and his challenger, Democrat Jim Sullivan, continued to fire away at one another Wednesday, with Sullivan calling for Simmons to return a campaign contribution from a political committee whose aides were indicted the day before.

[...]

At the center of Sullivan's demand was the indictment Tuesday of three men, including Jim Ellis, a top aide of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and John Colyandro, executive director of his political committee, Americans for a Republican Majority, or ARMPAC.

[...]

Simmons has received $10,000, the legal maximum, from ARMPAC, which has distributed more than $780,000 to Republican candidates in the current election cycle.

NJ-7

Democrats on Thursday called on New Jersey Rep. Mike Ferguson to return $10,000 in campaign money he received from a political committee named in felony indictments and associated with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas.

Good to see Dems turning up the heat on Tom DeLay's congressional lackeys... help the DCCC expose them all with a donation.