Tom DeLay

Even before he fell from power, Tom DeLay and Vision America's Rick Scarborough had been very close, with DeLay appearing via video at Scarborough's "Confronting the Judicial War on Faith" Conference back in 2005 and in person at Scarborough's "War on Christians" conference the following year just days before he resigned from Congress.

Since then, DeLay and Scarborough have maintained their relationship, with DeLay even appearing at Scarborough's church to proclaim that "America was created by God to spread the Gospel; to spread the word of Jesus Christ and to propagate Christianity" and as a weekly guest on Scarborough's radio program.

On Wednesday, a jury found DeLay guilty of money laundering and throughout the trial Scarborough sat in the courtroom to demonstrate his support and insists that DeLay has been railroaded:

Rick Scarborough, former pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pearland and founder of Vision America, sat through much of DeLay's trial. Scarborough said he became friends with DeLay because of his strong Christian faith and commitment to life. When he visited DeLay in Washington, he said, they would end meetings in prayer.

"We'd drop to our knees, read Scripture and pray. With Tom, it wasn't an act," Scarborough said.

...

Scarborough said he is convinced DeLay is innocent and his conviction will be overturned on appeal. Scarborough said he believes DeLay drew fire because he was one of the best and most effective House leaders in history.

"Tom did what Tom has always done. He learned the system," Scarborough said. "He used it within the framework of the law. He is simply better at it than anybody before him, and they crucified him for it."

And the reason DeLay was "crucified", Scarborough explained back in 2006, was because he was an exemplary Christian:

"I believe the most damaging thing that Tom DeLay has done in his life is take his faith seriously into public office, which made him a target for all those who despise the cause of Christ," Scarborough said, introducing DeLay yesterday. When DeLay finished, the host reminded the politician: "God always does his best work right after a crucifixion."

Seeing this clip of Tom DeLay claiming that those who are unemployed want to be unemployed and saying that unemployment benefits just "[keep] people from going and finding jobs" got me thinking, just what is Tom DeLay's job?

The last I recall hearing anything about his was back in 2007 when it was big news that he and Ken Blackwell were launching something called Coalition for a Conservative Majority, which was going to become the right-wing version of MoveOn.org:

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has formed a new grass-roots organization that he says will help conservatives better convey their message to voters and take back control of Congress.

The Coalition for a Conservative Majority (CCM) — co-founded by Mr. DeLay, Texas Republican, and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell — will establish "chapters" in all 50 states, which will be used to lobby lawmakers, coordinate political messages and influence members of the press.

"Right now, liberals are better organized, funded and active than I have ever witnessed," Mr. DeLay said. "Our goal is to work with the talented leaders of the conservative movement to complement their efforts, using an army of activists to push for the policies and leadership conservatives are begging for."

So I decided to take a look at the CCM's website to see what it have been up to since its launch over two years ago:

That's right, DeLay's conservative version of MoveOn consists entirely of a website that contains nothing but links to three local CCM chapters of Phoenix, Colorado Springs, and Denver.

So what is it that Tom DeLay has been doing, exactly? 

Oh wait, I remember:

Devin Burghart of the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights attended the National Tea Party Convention and notes that Rick Scarborough used his address at the event to unveil a new coalition called "Mandate to Save America":

A workshop by Dr. Rick Scarborough indicated a shift taking place at the convention, transforming the focus from bailouts and deficits to the culture war. Scarborough is a former Southern Baptist pastor from Pearland, Texas, and a he heads up a corporate constellation including Vision America, Vision America Action and the Judeo-Christian Council for Constitutional Restoration. He has been fixture on the Christian Right for several years (Jerry Falwell published his first book).

After showing an eight minute video cataloguing his many television appearances, the jovial Scarborough told a packed room of around 215 people that the gap between “fiscal and social conservatives has got to cease.” In addition to attacking the Obama administration for its commitment to ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and supporting the inclusion of gays and lesbians into federal hate crimes protections, Scarborough warned that we "now have a government of thieves" and that we are moving towards a “collectivist” society. We have a Godly duty to defend “American exceptionalism,” he said.

Scarborough used much of his speech to launch a new campaign, called the Mandate to Save America, a project of the S.T.O.P. Obama Tyranny National Coalition.

The pamphlet he distributed read, “We, the undersigned, and millions of other American patriots, including many who comprise the growing TEA Party movement, are no less determined than patriots of the past, who fought for our freedom. We will make any sacrifice, endure any hardship, and confront any foe to keep the flame of freedom burning bright; so help us God.”

The list of signers reads like a who’s who of the Christian Right: Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Tim Wildmon of the American Family Association, Gary Bauer of American Values, Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America, and many more. The ten campaign demands marked an overt attempt to fuse Tea Party desires with the broader agenda of the Christian Right into a more potent form of Christian nationalism.

Scarborough worked up the crowd in the room, and got a standing ovation when he demanded, “enough is enough!” When he finished, an older woman in the front row stood up and stated, “What we need is revival and revolt!” which also brought enthusiastic cheers from the audience.

And sure enough, Mandate to Save America has a website carrying this declaration:

So far the list of signers includes Gary Bauer, Tom DeLay, Janet Porter, Tony Perkins, Phyllis Schlafly, Mat Staver, Tim Wildmon, Wendy Wright, Richard Viguerie, and several others.

Mike Huckabee may be content to busy himself with his TV show for now, but that doesn’t mean he’s giving up the idea of running for president again in the future.  Just last week, he declared that he’d consider another run because "My experience in no way embittered me” – and if he decides to run again in 2012, it looks like he’ll have the support of Tom DeLay:

Tom DeLay was a supporter of Mike Huckabee in the Republican primaries, and likes his chances for the party's nomination in 2012 if John McCain loses in November, despite disagreeing with the former Arkansas governor on a number of issues.

"I've known Huckabee for 30 years," DeLay, the former House majority leader from Texas, told PolitickerCA.com. "I know what kind of man he is, how strong he is. I didn't agree with him on global warming, but I can overlook that knowing what a great man he is."

"I think that because of the kind of person he is, people like him," DeLay said. "If he weren't so populist, I think the conservatives would rally around him."

Huckabee encountered significant opposition during his campaign from various conservative groups, including the Club for Growth, which invested heavily in negative advertising against his candidacy.

DeLay said that he doesn't think Huckabee will be satisfied with his new job at Fox News, and hinted that the former governor was interested in running for president again if McCain loses. "He's looking ahead," DeLay said. "He's going to be out there helping build the party. He's going to be around.