Repubs -- including Ryan -- shun DeLay event

This just in: An e-mail from Paul Ryan's office:

Wish you'd called our office to check the facts first before posting the item about Congressman Paul Ryan on your blog. Congressman Ryan was not invited to speak at the tribute dinner until late yesterday afternoon - after the event agenda/speaker's list had already been circulated and posted on Wonkette. He declined the invitation, as his schedule will not allow him to attend or speak at the dinner tonight. Congressman Ryan plans to fly back to Wisconsin after votes in the House conclude, as was his original plan. In short, the agenda/speaker's list circulated yesterday was incorrect. Please feel free to call us in the future to confirm such information. --Kate Matus,Press Secretary.

The NY Times reports today that Republican House members are mostly avoiding the American Conservative Union dinner tonight honoring the beleaguered and ethics-challenged Tom DeLay.

"When 900 conservatives gather at a downtown Hilton hotel on Thursday night to pay tribute to Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the House majority leader who is caught up in a swirl of accusations over his fund-raising and ties to lobbyists, only about three dozen House Republicans will be there," the Times reports.

Now Paul Ryan's office says he's not going and never was. Besides all of his other problems, DeLay's office and ACU are guilty of sloppy staff work, if that's the case.

We're assuming Mark Green isn't one of the three dozen attending, but we shall see. Here's the NYT story.