Green steps in DeLay doo-doo

The stench of Tom DeLay's ethical cesspool gets worse by the day.

Now it looks like Wisconsin Congressman Mark Green may have gotten some on his shoe.

Green has received more than $30,000 in contributions from DeLay's leadership PAC and campaign committee over his last four campaigns for Congress, as the Democratic Party of Wisconsin gleefully revealed Monday. Press release

That $30,000 has bought some loyalty from Green, who voted to change the House ethics rules to protect DeLay from a challenge to his leadership, and helped bounce the former chairman of the ethics committee, a fellow Repub, when he dared take on DeLay.

Every day, more Republicans are emboldened (or maybe worried about their own political skins) to speak up about DeLay. But Green has been silent.

That could be messy for someone running for governor, especially since the DeLay money -- like hundreds of thousands of dollars in other PAC and special interest money raised by Green's Congressional committee -- was laundered into his governor's campaign.

It is illegal for a candidate for governor to accept money from federal PACs not registered in Wisconsin. But a legal loophole allowed Green to amass $800,000 from federal special interest PACs and transfer it to his state campaign account.

When the State Elections Board tried to pass a rule to prevent that and level the playing field, the Repubs who control the legislature overturned it. Green will be able to use about $1.3-million in PAC money (including DeLay's money) in his campaign, while other candidates for governor will be limited to about $485,000.

As the DeLay case ripens and smells worse and worse, Green will have the opportunity during the governor's race to explain why he took that money and why he has refused to speak up about DeLay's lack of ethics, or even his attack on the judiciary.

Can't you see the commercials now? Mark Green morphs into Tom DeLay, while the script and graphics highlight DeLay's ethical problems and the piles of money he's given to Green. We could see those early, in the GOP primary.

Given the pro-DeLay votes Green already has cast, it is probably too late for repairs.

If DeLay goes down -- as many are beginning to believe he will -- he could take Mark Green's gubernatorial ambitions with him.