DeLay’s Misfortunes Opened Path for Boehner

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

Tom DeLay is the reason John Boehner is in line to become Speaker of the House in January.

For those of you lost in a news vacuum, or a tryptophan and pumpkin pie-induced food coma this Thanksgiving, a Texas jury convicted former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) late Wednesday of funneling corporate campaign funds to local political candidates in Texas. The felony conviction could send DeLay to prison anywhere from five years to life, although the former Leader could receive probation.

DeLay is scheduled for sentencing just before Christmas. But he's planning to appeal.

But for Tom DeLay, there would be no John Boehner. At least in the context that places Boehner on the precipice of the House Speakership in just a few weeks.

I often argue that political leadership positions are determined by "particle politics." This is when battles and outcomes are determined at the sub-atomic level as political protons and neutrons crash into one another.

The rise of John Boehner and the fall of Tom DeLay serve as the very essence of political quantum theory when it comes to determining the fates of Congressional figures.
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Like quantum physics, the arcane physics of backroom politics can seem inscrutable to the average person...