Mary Ann Akers, The Washington Post, May 10, 2007
Here in the nation’s capital, irony sometimes takes a heaping spoonful of steroids and facts become stranger than fiction.
The latest example? Take a guess at who’s headlining an upcoming political training seminar offering “explicit discussions of ethics.”
The answer is Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader who resigned last year after being indicted on campaign finance abuses in Texas and who remains under federal scrutiny in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.
DeLay, a.k.a. “the Hammer,” is set to kick off a May 31 Campaigns & Elections seminar, where he will hawk his book, “No Retreat, No Surrender,” and talk political strategy … and, who knows, maybe even ethics. (After all, Michael Scanlon, a former top DeLay aide who pleaded guilty in the Abramoff lobbying investigation, delivered his graduate thesis on congressional ethics last year; so why shouldn’t the Hammer be able to join in the absurdity of it all?)
A witty, lampoony e-mail invitation from Campaigns & Elections reads: “Due to strong language (e.g. going negative, oppo, scandal) and adult situations (e.g. networking, politics, education) the Campaigns & Elections political training seminar is not intended for everyone. Some programming will include former Congressman and DCCC Chairman Vic Fazio, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, political strategist Joe Trippi and gratuitous depictions of successful campaigns, explicit discussions of ethics and an extreme passion for politics.”