WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, the House of Representatives' fallen majority leader, announced on Tuesday the end of a re-election fight he was in jeopardy of losing and said he would soon step down from the U.S. Congress.

"It's time for me to go do something else," DeLay told Fox News.

Yeah it is, prison time!---intangible child

DeLay insisted that he did not feel defeated in the face of legal battles and blamed politics for his woes, which have included an indictment in Texas on campaign finance charges and a Capitol Hill lobbying scandal that so far has ensnared two of his former aides.

The shock announcement came 12 years after DeLay helped Republicans capture control of the House. Democrats have sought to make DeLay and Republican ethical scandals an issue as they try to recapture the chamber this year in November elections.

"I feel kind of excited, frankly," DeLay said. "I'm looking forward to being liberated outside the House, doing whatever I can to unify the conservative cause." DeLay said he was acting to ensure Republicans held on to his seat.

First elected in 1984, DeLay was nicknamed "The Hammer" for his hardball political tactics. He was rebuked by the House ethics committee on three separate matters in 2004 and stepped down as House majority leader in September after being indicted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...040400723.html

The wheels are coming off of the conservative wagon.