SCOTUS DENIES DELAY MOTION

Giggle. Cackle. Guffaw. Hoo-hoo! The Supreme Court passes on GOP DeLay appeal.

There's not much that could please me more (well, winning the lottery would be nice, though it can't compare, of course, to world peace).

“We are not surprised that Justice Scalia has denied the Republicans’ motion to stay,” Mr. Richie said. “Every judge involved in the case so far has agreed with us on the merits of our argument. It is time for Tom DeLay and the Republican Party to get out of the courtroom and quit this abuse of the voters, who have been without representation for months. Both parties have candidates, and it is now time to move forward and allow voters to participate in a fair and meaningful election.”

The legal issue hinged in part on whether party officials could replace a nominee who had been selected by the voters. Having decisively won a hard-fought four-way primary in March, Mr. DeLay upended Texas politics by unexpectedly declaring that he would drop his campaign and resign his 22-year seat to move to Virginia.

But a Texas judge, a federal judge in Austin and a three-judge federal appeals panel in New Orleans blocked the Republican Party from choosing a replacement under provisions of Texas election law and the Constitution that barred tampering with candidate lists and election standards.

In light of the announcement, DeLay said through his daughter that he will withdraw his name from the ballot, which means that there will be no Republican listed. "The Hammer" intends to support a write-in candidate.

Tags: Tom DeLay, Supreme Court