When House Majority Leader Tom DeLay spoke at a National Rifle Association convention in Texas on Saturday, a strange and ironic atmosphere shrouded the event. Most prominently, Texan NRA supporters wearing tuxedos and dining on sirloin steak gathered in an unusual spectacle. That wasn’t all. The event also marked one of the few times a leading Republican has shared the stage with Ted Nugent, hard-rocker and renowned psychopath. More conspicuously, with many attendees donning “I’m for the NRA and Tom DeLay” stickers, the beloved Representative only briefly mentioned the ethics scandal that has consumed him of late. But make no mistake. DeLay’s ostentatious, carefree show doesn’t change the fact that the scandal has rocked American politics, challenging the Republicans’ majority in Congress as well as the House of Representatives’ internal protocol. In this bitter partisan fight, the public has yet to see whether the controversy will bring any long-term changes to the system.

The scandal stems from Congressman DeLay’s overseas travels, which lobbyists and interest groups allegedly funded illegally. While it is legal to receive funding from charities and other nonprofit organizations if such funding is reported, it is not legal to do so if the funding comes from lobbying groups. DeLay, who got off on the wrong foot by being admonished three times by the House Rules and Ethics Committee in 2004, has apparently gone on a number of trips indirectly funded by lobbyists. For example in 2000, DeLay and members of his staff took a trip to London that would make Posh and Becks jealous. The group stayed at the Four Seasons, skipped a six-month waiting list for tickets to The Lion King musical, and dined exclusively at the city’s top restaurants. Meanwhile, one of Washington’s most infamous lobbyers, Jack Abramoff, arranged the entire trip by having two internet gambling companies cut $25,000 checks to the National Center for Public Policy Research, the nonprofit that officially sponsored the trip. At the time, Congress was considering a ban on internet gaming. “Casino Jack,” whom DeLay once described as “one of my closest and dearest friends," is now under criminal investigation (unsurprisingly) for overcharging Indian tribes involved the gambling business.

This incident doesn’t stand alone. Over the years, a number of DeLay’s other trips also appear to owe their funding to lobbyists. Repetitively, DeLay has called the allegations a smear campaign conducted by the “legion of Democrat-friendly press.” He has insisted that his staff reported the funds, claiming their ignorance of the source. But this claim has about as much credibility as the annual promise of SA presidential candidates to lower class sizes.

Democrats have obviously been quick to criticize DeLay, while most Republicans have defended him. President Bush personally gave support to his party’s House leader: “I'm looking forward to working with Tom. He's been a very effective leader. We've gotten a lot done in the legislature.” The past weekend saw a flood of top ranked Republicans on the airwaves for the same reason. Nevertheless, many Republicans have criticized DeLay’s actions. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich said that the congressman should explain his actions more and blame the media less (even though while at Dartmouth he scaled back such criticisms by calling them mere allegations as of yet), while Moderate Republican Representative Chris Shays called for DeLay to step down: “I think it's been harmful to the Republican Conference, a conference that ran on the highest ethical standards. And I think it's also harmful for Republicans who are up for reelection.” Many top Republicans have quickly tried to separate themselves from DeLay despite their external support. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that the two are friends, though “there are different levels of friendship with anybody.” Bush laughed at the notion that DeLay’s problems stemmed from a liberal media bias. After all, with friends like Bush and Abramoff helping him out, why would DeLay need enemies?

But DeLay may still face his enemies on the House Rules and Ethics Committee. The Committee, meant for bipartisan investigation of rules violations, consists of five Democrats and five Republicans, and is the only committee that does not maintain a partisan majority. Unfortunately, members have been less cooperative than even the infamous female team in MTV’s “Real World/Road Rules Battle of the Sexes.” In its first meeting of the year, Republicans maneuvered a rule change requiring a majority of the Committee’s votes to begin an investigation. In other words, a Republican would need to break ranks and vote to investigate DeLay. Leading Democrats are outraged, as the rule has always stipulated that only half of the Committee’s members needed to agree in order to start an investigation. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that “Republicans are engaging in abuse of power and the American people are paying the price.” Republican head of the Committee Doc Hastings has agreed to break the tie and vote for an investigation, and DeLay has said that he is willing and eager to speak to the Committee. However, Democrats refuse to operate the panel until the rule is changed back to its original form. The scandal has elevated the already rampant level of partisanship in the Congress to new heights, with every vote on the subject falling almost exactly down party lines. When Pelosi called for a bipartisan panel to investigate DeLay, for example, only two Republican representatives voted with the Democrats for its creation.

This fiasco represents a clear threat to the Congressional Republican majority and its leadership capabilities. While he will likely remain House Majority Leader for the time being, DeLay will not be very successful in leading his party when many of its members have separated themselves from, or downright criticized, him. Republicans must also worry about how Ethics and Rules Committee scandals reflect on their party. A Wall Street Journal editorial recently stated that “Mr. DeLay, who rode to power in 1994 on a wave of revulsion at the everyday ways of big government, has become the living exemplar of some of its worst habits.” However, the scandal does not constitute a true threat to the Republican majority. Leaders have effectively disconnected themselves from DeLay, and the scandal will hardly be a voter consideration come next November. In the end, this scandal is simply another episode of an era characterized by a bitter, partisan Congress. No substantive changes will likely occur in the House as a result of the ordeal; it will only spur more hatred between two parties that everyday find themselves further apart than ever.