Former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas recently praised the Constitution Party’s Randall Terry and Stephen Broden and called on supporters to financially support the ticket in airing television and radio ads.
According to a statement on the homepage of the Terry campaign’s official website, DeLay praises the campaign’s “3-D battle plan,” calling on his fellow Republicans to rally behind the ticket’s priorities. While he never explicitly mentions voting, DeLay states that he is financially supporting the ticket so that it can air a series of video and radio spots nationwide, urging others to do the same.
“The ‘3-D’ battle plan of the Terry/Broden campaign is political genius!” DeLay opines in the statement. “Every Republican should invest in this mission to DEFEND babies, DEFEAT Biden and DESTROY the Democrat Party. I assure you, when Biden loses, Trump WINS! Please join me in financially supporting this campaign, so these television ads can run nationwide.”
The ads, which are partially available through the site, touch upon a variety of contemporary social issues, as well as the Democratic Party’s relationship with various groups, and the Constitution Party itself. According to the campaign, these ads have garnered sizable financial support from Republican donors in an effort to influence key swing states and potentially impact the election against Joe Biden.
The Terry campaign confirmed DeLay’s support as an endorsement in an email to Independent Political Report on Tuesday. While the exact timing of DeLay’s statement is not yet known, it did not appear on the campaign site until after May 31, 2024.
In a phone interview with the New American on Monday, DeLay proceeded to again praise Terry for his views, particularly surrounding abortion, saying, “It’s time to have a national debate on abortion, and those who believe in saving lives must go on the offensive, driving the narrative. Randall Terry is the first person I have see [sic] who’s running for president and talking about the truth of what is happening to babies.”
Tom DeLay, a former Republican Congressman from Texas, served as the House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005. He was first elected in 1984, representing Texas’ 22nd congressional district. After leaving office in 2006, he was indicted on charges of money laundering related to campaign finance violations; however, the conviction was later overturned on appeal.
It’s a legal requirement to say which campaign sponsors the ads. That’s what makes it where tv stations have to air them, even if they don’t want to be associated with the content, in the 45 or 60 days leading up to a federal election. That’s why Terry is running for President – if he does those ads as Operation Rescue or any other thing other than as a candidate for President who is on the ballot in 10 or more states, broadcasters are allowed to turn down those ads, and most do.
So, he’s using the ads to attack Biden, and people like DeLay can contribute to them financially and urge other Trump supporters to do so and still believe they’re helping rather than hurting Trump, even though they do identify which campaign is behind them, and have to in order to be aired. Trump doesn’t have to answer for their content, and yet still can benefit from them.
Campaigning for Trump without Trump’s seal of approval, is not campaigning for Terry. He should be taking both Biden and Trump (and RFK and Oliver and Stein and West, etc.) to task, as he was before. The fact that he did so and backpedaled is not a good look. There’s nothing people like to see more in presidential candidates than fickleness.
In fairness to Terry, having watched several of his ads while writing this, he does make a pitch for his own candidacy at the end of them. They’re not explicitly about the Terry campaign, as Actually says, but there is still an effort to tell viewers which campaign is responsible for them.
DeLay does endorse Trump. He also endorses contributing financially to Terry, which he believes will help Trump because the ads are all negative attack ads against Biden which are too hardcore for Trump to officially approve the message. As I understand it, Terry is not doing any positive ads for himself, or attack ads against Trump, all attack ads against Biden only.
McArdle should have been the one endorsing Terry, and DeLay Trump.
Posting pro-Trump nonsense on his campaign site isn’t going to do Terry any favors. The now-deleted statement that “Trump has hurt Trump by waffling on his pro-life position […] Trump is running FROM abortion” was far more pertinent.
So dumb. having third parties specifically pushing “we aren’t going to hurt trump” (or Biden) is so looser.
Huh! Who knew that Tom DeLay and Angela McArdle sounded so much alike?