David's op-ed concerning the ad that Roy Blunt doesn't want Missourians to see ran in the Springfield News-Leader yesterday. The op-ed was in response to the decision by four broadcast television stations in Joplin and Springfield, MO to pull the ad we showed you last week that links Blunt to indicted former Majority Leader Tom DeLay's money-laundering schemes.

John B. Judis at The New Republic has a good piece on just how much Roy Blunt learned from Tom DeLay about money and politics:

"[Blunt]" owes his rise in the House to the Texas congressman. But he may also one day blame DeLay for his fall, because DeLay appears to have taught him not only how to count votes and woo lobbyists, but arguably how to play fast and loose with campaign finance ethics....

AP does its work. Hats off to Sharon Theimer and John Solomon for this gem of investigative reporting, though the description below of a financial carousel makes it sound too innocent. It was laundering:

DeLay, Blunt Swapped Donations

There's a lot of news out there on the DeLay indictment from all sorts of angles. This, folks, is wall-to-wall saturation media coverage.

The big outlets are doing two, three, four parts of this, or some combo of the following themes:

Anyone thinking there would be a new era ushered into the Capitol building with the indicted Tom DeLay out and Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri in, is, well, sadly mistaken. From our DeLay Rankings:

Blunt is a mini-DeLay:

• Voted with DeLay 96.25% of the time (2336 with, 91 against)
• Received $1,019 from ARMPAC
• Donated $20,000 to Tom DeLay Legal Expense Trust

AP:

The political committee of Rep. Roy Blunt, who is temporarily replacing Rep. Tom DeLay as House majority leader, has paid roughly $88,000 in fees since 2003 to a consultant under indictment in Texas with DeLay, according to federal records.

In June 2003 Roy Blunt inserted a provision benefiting Philip Morris in the 475-page bill creating the department of Homeland Security bill, according to a report in the Washington Post. At the time, Blunt had accepted more than $150,000 over just two years from PACs affiliated with the company.

Check out Roy Blunt's "lifetime profile" from the folks at Open Secrets. First elected in 1996, Blunt has managed to raise nearly $9 million in campaign contributions for his races, 96% of that from business interests.

According to CBS News, House Republicans choose Blunt. Tea leaves? If the GOP chooses someone with a base of support, that's the deathknell for DeLay. Maybe. We'll see.

Oh, the palace intrigue!

Analysis coming on Blunt.