Recent Newsweek article about Tom DeLay's fundraising prowess is worth a read. Apparently, contributions to DeLay's legal defense fund have increased sharply as of late. One large giver was Charles Hurwitz, who is currently lobbying for video lottery and blackjack terminals at his Houston racetrack. Mr. Hurwitz and his company, Maxxam, have been generous givers to Rep. DeLay's legal defense fund as well as his various political action committees.

The significance of Mr. Hurwitz's contributions is that gambling - sin - was their source. But don't worry, Rep. DeLay "is not supportive of the expansion of gambling, period," according to a DeLay spokesman. Whew. I guess the "period" was meant to underline the intensity with which the House Majority Leader opposes gambling, presumably because of its sinfulness. Of course, Rep. DeLay as a pillar of virtue has taken some hits recently with his third or fourth ethics violation in the House of Representatives.

Rep. DeLay's biggest ethical challenge, however, seems to be his alleged use of corporate contributions to gerrymander Texas's congressional districts to ensure Republican wins. The use of corporate contributions for political purposes is illegal in Texas. So far, that effort has resulted in numerous indictments in Texas, including some of DeLay's immediate subordinates, and a rule change by House Republicans to allow the conference's leadership to continue holding leadership positions even if he or she is indicted. Republicans adopted the rule change 11 years ago to argue they would be more ethical than Democrats, who controlled the House at that time. Indictments, ok. But no gambling. Period.