Hammer Time for The Hammer!Tom DeLay is a conservative Republican businessman who served as a Texas state legislator as well as in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he was House majority leader. He resigned from Congress on June 9, 2006 after a series of criminal indictments.
DeLay spend much of his childhood in Venezuela because of his father's work in the oil industry. He briefly attended Baylor University, but was expelled for drinking. He eventually graduated from the University of Houston with a science degree. Before entering politics, Delay ran a pest control business. He faced tax liens three times by the IRS for not paying payroll and income tax. He paid settlements to two different associates who say they were cheated by him.
DeLay was elected to the elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1978. During this time he continued to struggle with alcoholism. In 1984, DeLay was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives after Republican Ron Paul stepped down. To fight his alcohol addiction, he became a Christian in 1985.
He is a controversial public figure because of his political tactics, which have resulted in several admonishments from the House ethics committee. He rose quickly in the Republican House ranks partly because of his exceptional fund-raising abilities. Delay was elected House Majority Whip in 1995.
While in the House, he was nicknamed "the hammer" because of his strong and disciplined efforts to enforce Republican control of the House by wreaking political vengeance on opponents. He admits to liking the nickname, saying that the hammer is the carpenter's most valuable tool.
DeLay has been a strong advocate of reducing Social Security, free trade protection, and opposition to gun control. He believes that birth control, evolutionary theory, and day care are attacks on American culture. During the Monica Lewinsky scandal, he led the effort to impeach President Bill Clinton. He also worked behind the scenes to facilitate demonstrations opposing the 2000 presidential election recount. In 2003 he was elected the House majority leader.
On September 28, 2005, a Travis County, Texas grand jury indicted DeLay on charges of conspiring to violate the Texas election law, which prohibits corporate contributions in state legislative races. DeLay reacted to the indictments calling them a "sham" brought on by his opponents. DeLay was forced to resign temporarily from his position as majority leader, and in January 2006, under pressure from fellow Republicans, he announced that he would not seek to return to the position.
At the same time, two former DeLay aides were convicted in the Jack Abramoff scandal. In April 2006, citing the possibility of losing the general election, DeLay announced that he would not seek re-election to the House and would resign his seat in Congress. He resigned on June 9, 2006, and sought to make himself ineligible to stand for re-election. The Texas Republican Party tried to replace DeLay on the ballot for the November 2006 election, but was unsuccessful.
Tom and Christine DeLay have one daughter, Danielle. In 2002, Danielle and her husband Steve had a baby. Tom and Christine are interested in foster care and are working to reform the current foster care system. | 
