HELP FIGHT CRIME!

Take a moment to turn up the heat on crooked Republican Tom Delay. (from moveon.org.)

A month ago it looked like the scandals surrounding House Republican Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay couldn't get any worse. Newspapers were breaking new stories every week about lobbyist-paid golf trips, the $500,000 paid from DeLay's political coffers to his family, and back-room deals DeLay was cutting to save his hide.

Then, it got worse.

The latest scandal connects DeLay to sweatshops in the Mariana Islands making apparel with "Made in the USA" labeling while avoiding U.S. labor laws — exploiting Chinese immigrant labor. But a growing number of Republicans are going mute on DeLay's ethical abuses. They're afraid of far-right organizations — who are staunch DeLay supporters — and of retribution from DeLay himself.

The thing that will push Tom DeLay out of his leadership role is a public outcry and pressure on the Republicans who gave him that office. That's where you come in. In a few weeks, we're going to organize events across the nation to deliver our petition to fire Tom DeLay to the Republicans who still back him — either Republicans in Congress or the local Republican Party.

Take a moment to sign it now — the more signatures we can deliver to the Republican Party in New York the more pressure will build to fire DeLay as majority leader.

http://www.moveonpac.org/delay/?id=5503-1644652-FTCs7tt.POOdCkMBEYvdlg&t=1

The tangled web of backslapping relationships between DeLay, other Republicans, and lobbyists needs to be exposed to the light. So we've taken the best information out there on the connections between Republican members of Congress and Rep. Tom DeLay and we sent it to MoveOn members in Republican districts.

So far, nearly 300,000 of us have signed a petition to Congress urging them to fire Tom DeLay as majority leader. We want to collect at least 500,000 petition signatures before the beginning of June when Congress returns home for a week.

During the first week in June MoveOn members will deliver the petition to Republican members of Congress while they're home. Since you live in a Democratic district, a group of MoveOn members will deliver the petition to the local Republican Party headquarters. You can volunteer to get involved in the petition delivery when you sign the petition.

Please take a minute right now to sign our petition urging Congress to fire Tom DeLay as majority leader. After you sign let your friends, family and co-workers know about the petition by forwarding this e-mail to them.

http://www.moveonpac.org/delay/?id=5503-1644652-FTCs7tt.POOdCkMBEYvdlg&t=2

We need to turn up the heat about DeLay. As absurd as it sounds, many Republicans are actually gathering later this week at a banquet to honor DeLay.

Among his offenses, Tom Delay:

Accepted trips from corporations and later helped kill legislation they opposed
Accepted trips from the lobbyist for a foreign government in violation of House rules
Paid family members more than $500,000 out of campaign contributions
Helped sweatshops in the Mariana Islands at the behest of a lobbyist.
Promised a role in drafting legislation to a corporate donor
Tried to coerce a Congressman for a vote on Medicare
Allegedly used corporate money given to his PAC to finance Texas campaigns in violation of state law
Used Homeland Security resources in a dispute with Democrats in Texas
Diverted funds from a children's charity for lavish celebrations at the Republican convention
Threatened retaliation against interest groups that don't support Republicans
Stacked the House Ethics Committee with representatives who have contributed to his legal defense fund
Crippled the effectiveness of the House Ethics Committee by purging members who had rebuked him
Pushed for a rules change for the House Ethics process that paralyzed the panel
Sought a rule change that would have no longer "required leaders to step aside temporarily if indicted"
(See postscript below for a link to citations.)

As majority leader, DeLay is the second-ranking leader in the House of Representatives. He is responsible for developing the Republican issue agenda and sets the legislative schedule by selecting which bills the House will consider.

The ranks of government contractors and lobbyists who depend on this legislative authority have slathered DeLay, his cronies and related organizations with millions of dollars.

Please sign our petition today urging Congress to fire Tom Delay!

http://www.moveonpac.org/delay/?id=5503-1644652-FTCs7tt.POOdCkMBEYvdlg&t=3