"As part of a nationwide campaign, a small delegation from the Democratic group MoveOn.org delivered to Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. on Wednesday a petition with 911 signatures calling for the end of Rep. Tom DeLay’s term as U.S. House majority leader.

MoveOn hopes to deliver 500,000 signatures to Republican representatives across the United States by the end of the week. The liberal group had collected 472,671 signatures by Wednesday afternoon, according to its Web site.

The petition states, “Republicans in Congress should fire Tom DeLay as Majority Leader because of repeated and flagrant ethical misconduct.”

DeLay has been at the center of several ethics controversies recently.

He is accused of collaborating with a political action committee, Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC), which is under investigation for accepting illegal corporate donations to help the Texas legislature redraw district boundaries in favor of Republicans.

The majority leader is also accused of accepting lavish overseas trips from a lobbyist, a violation of House ethics rules; and misusing Federal Aviation Administration resources to track down a jet chartered by Texas Democratic legislators in the midst of a redistricting battle.

Additionally, DeLay has been criticized for paying his wife and daughter several hundred thousand dollars from campaign contributions to work for him.

Goode defended DeLay’s trips, saying there were plenty of Democratic congressmen and women who have done the same thing. And to criticize DeLay for hiring family on his campaign, “That was like the pot calling the kettle black,” he said, adding that it’s a common practice among representatives from both parties.

Goode declined to comment on the TRMPAC charges.

“That’s under investigation and I don’t know the details on that,” he said. “I know many are mad with DeLay because of his efforts on redistricting, because it caused four or five of them to lose their seats.”

DeLay spokesperson Dan Allen dismissed the MoveOn petition.

“Funded by Democrat heavy-hitter George Soros, having aired ads on its Web site comparing President Bush to Hitler and opposing military action in Afghanistan, MoveOn.org has proven itself to be more than out of step with mainstream America,” Allen said in an e-mail. “Voters didn’t accept their partisan attacks last year, and judging by the successful efforts of House Republicans to pass a positive, bipartisan agenda this year, MoveOn.org’s latest antics are falling on deaf ears again.”

Local activist Evan Scully, who was one of the 10 MoveOn members delivering the petition, dismissed DeLay’s recent assertions that he thought money that paid for trips to Scotland and South Korea came from a nonprofit group, not a lobbyist.

“A man in his position has to know better,” Scully said." (John Yellig, The Daily Progress, June 2, 2005)

Contact John Yellig at (434) 978-7245 or eyellig@dailyprogress.com.