Rep. Bob Beauprez (R-CO) is leaving his seat to run for governor in Colorado, and he's still getting notice for his coziness to Tom DeLay. In the middle of a long profile on Beauprez in today's Denver Post we read:

Public Campaign Action Fund, a nonpartisan group dedicated to reforming campaign fundraising, has ranked Beauprez first among members of Congress for overall ties to DeLay.

Reporter Susan Greene gets it right. Beauprez earned the dubious honor of first place in our DeLay Rankings, thanks to his taking money from DeLay's leadership PAC, ARMPAC, his contribution to DeLay's legal defense fund, and his voting record in line with DeLay's.

Seems like his coziness to DeLay shows in other ways--his willingness to play pay-to-play politics. Read Greene's story to learn how the would-be governor ranked 10th among House members for funding from the oil and gas industry and how he voted for President Bush's energy bill, which last year "extended billions in tax breaks to oil companies at a time of record profits." Beauprez has also co-sponsored a bill that would give regulatory relief to community banks. Not only was he one of the top ranking recipients for contributions from commercial banks in the 2004 cycle, but he also owns an interest in a community bank called Heritage Bank.

Sounds like DeLay-ism to us.