The Hammer: Tom DeLay FROM THE PUBLISHER
He hailed from the roughneck camps of the Texas oilpatch and the dysfunctional home of an alcoholic father. He started his professional career as owner of a pest control business. His colleagues in the Texas Legislature thought of him as the right-wing crank from a no-account Houston suburb, if good fun at a party; they called him "Hot Tub Tom." Today, Tom DeLay is arguably the most powerful man in Congress. He has succeeded in turning the House into a single-party operation-all without the backing of Karl Rove or George W. Bush. He has presided over a transformation of the House of Representatives that has rendered its age-old traditions-the committee system, floor debate, bipartisan collaboration, social relations across party lines-as dated as the brass spittoons that once graced the members' lounges.
How did he get from there to here? In The Hammer Lou Dubose and Jan Reid track DeLay's rise to the pinnacle of power, illuminating not only his personality and policies, but the forces in American politics that have made him a player. Long known for his inflammatory oratory-he dubbed the Environmental Protection Agency "the Gestapo of Government," and said he hadn't served in Vietnam because too many minorities had signed up, leaving no room for people like him-DeLay's real power resides in his less public mastery of the loopholes and evasions of campaign finance law and of Byzantine congressional procedure, as well as his deep ties to the evangelical Christian right. The Hammer details how DeLay turned his anti-regulatory stances into the largest and most organized political funding network ever seen, harnessed the political power of the evangelical movement, and made lobbyists the workhorses for Republican policy. It explains why the changes DeLay has spearheaded in the way politics works are likely to last for at least the next quartercentury. This first book-length examination of DeLay, based on the authors' long-term acquaintance with him from his early days in the Texas Legislature and recent original reporting, illuminates not only who DeLay is, what he wants, and what he is willing to do to achieve it, but why American voters should pay very close attention.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
In this critical biography, veteran Texas journalists Dubose and Reid tell the story of the boy from Sugarland, Tex., who rose from smalltown exterminator to majority leader of the House of Representatives, earning the nickname "the Hammer" along the way. All the major episodes of DeLay's career are vividly covered: his rise through the House ranks, the coup against Speaker Newt Gingrich, how DeLay built his formidable fund-raising operation and (allegedly) bullied the lobbyists of K Street into towing the GOP party line, his alliance with right-wing Zionists (Christian and Jewish), and his disdain for Bill Clinton. The book is written from a progressive perspective, and the authors do not engage in substantive policy discussions about the merits of DeLay's ideas. There is no examination, for example, of the literature on the efficacy of government regulation-Dubose and Reid simply assume that Delay's hardcore deregulation position is bad. For them, the House under Delay is "no longer a deliberative body" but rather functions as a "plebiscitary" system that merely rubber-stamps the wishes of the Republican leadership. They do, however, affirm that DeLay's positions are sincerely held-that he is a "conviction politician" who may be cynical about process but not about substance. (Sept. 28) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
When Tom DeLay was a back-bencher in the Texas legislature, his nickname was "Hot Tub Tom" in recognition of his swinging lifestyle and relaxed approach to government duties. Today, as majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, he's known as "The Hammer." This book traces DeLay's route from low-profile state legislator to powerful congressional leader, taking note of his hostility toward government regulations, adoption of born-again Christianity, role in the Gingrich revolution, and continued importance during the Bush administration. DuBose (editor of the Texas Observer) and Reid (coauthor, Boy Genius: Karl Rove) examine DeLay's fund-raising talents and excesses, his innovative efforts to manipulate lobbyists, and his skills in maintaining control of every important piece of legislation before the House of Representatives. The book offers an excellent primer on the evolution of political fund-raising, especially Political Action Committees and the manipulation of campaign finance reform rules. For readers intrigued by the ways politicians acquire and use power, this book will provide many hours of delightful reading. The documentation is slight, since the authors depended largely on their own reporting, but numerous attributions to news sources instill credibility. Recommended for public libraries and academic libraries with large political science collections.-Jill Ortner, SUNY at Buffalo Libs. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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