Can Fewer Texas Lobbyists in DC Mean More Clout for the State?

Seems that for the Dems, Tom DeLay is the gift that never stops giving – or, in this case, the stick which lets them keep beating Rick Perry. Yup, the state had been using two DeLay-linked DC lobby firms but has been forced to sever ties with them. Our beloved governor had been paying Cassidy & Associates and the Federalist Group $15,000 a month to work their lobbying magic for Texas, but guess what? They were also pretty closely connected with Mugshot Tom (the Federalists, for example, worked for several TRMPAC donors and hired former DeLay cronies Drew Maloney and Chris Lynch.) So their lobbying contracts, which were supposed to run until August, have been canceled.

But don't presume this means Texas will have less clout on Capitol Hill. Announcing the firms' termination was eight-term Houston Democrat U.S. Rep. Gene Green. Watch out: He's working on becoming the Dem's point guy on cleaning up the House. He's already serving as a senior deputy whip and serves on the House Ethics committee. He's also pushing hard for an independent investigative office, so that Congress doesn't have to act as its own judge, jury, and (as so often seems to happen) pardoner. Could it be that Texas might actually become synonymous with clean politics? Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.