Ryan stuck on DeLay money, too

Mark Green's been getting most of the headlines, but Rep. Paul Ryan has his own Tom DeLay problem. Ryan has taken $25,000 from DeLay's political action committee over the years.

Ryan now has a story he says he's sticking to, but his line -- like Green's -- has changed since Democrats first asked him to give back DeLay's money after DeLay was reprimanded for House ethics violations and then indicted on money laundering charges.

Ryan first said it would be illegal to return DeLay's money.

That turned out to be totally untrue. The Federal Election Commission clearly explains how candidates can return tainted or controversial contributions from political action committees.

So now Ryan has another story. He got that DeLay money a long time ago, and he's spent it, so there's nothing to give back.

Does that mean Ryan has less than $25,000 in the bank? No, he has well over a million dollars.

Does it mean that Ryan spent all of his campaign money in the years that he got the money from DeLay? No, he always had a healthy balance left over -- far more than $25,000.

So how does he know whose money he spent? How does he know it was DeLay's money that was spent while money from other special interests remained in his bank account?

He doesn't, of course. Thar argument doesn't fly.

It could just as well be that Ryan has been saving DeLay's $25,000 for a rainy day, so that it is the last $25,000 he would spend.

The point is, Ryan has the money and it is perfectly legal for him to return it. Why won't he? Loyalty to DeLay? Ryan, after all, is the one who was billed as a speaker at a DeLay tribute a few months ago but skipped out of DC and hightailed it back to the district, where his "schedule conflict" never really materialized. Maybe he doesn't want to let the Hammer down again.

Or maybe he just wants the money.

The Kenosha News reports:

U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan has established his position and he’s sticking with it: He’s not about to return the campaign contributions he received from Republican Rep. Tom DeLay, the recently indicted former House majority leader...

DeLay has now been twice indicted on charges he misused a separate PAC to illegally funnel corporate donations to Republican candidates in the 2002 Texas Legislature elections. He temporarily stepped down as House majority leader late last month, after a Texas grand jury levied the initial charge of felony criminal conspiracy.

“There’s no money to give back,” Ryan said Monday...

Joe Wineke, chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said he believes Ryan, Green and other Republicans are hesitant to upset DeLay because of the heavy hand the Texan known as “The Hammer” has wielded during his two decades in Congress.

“My guess is they don’t want to do anything to offend ‘the Hammer,’” Wineke said. “In Paul’s case, we think he should do the right thing — give the money back...”

“Obviously, they’re trying to take this situation in Texas and trying to stick it to every Republican in Congress,” Ryan said.

As for his own continued acceptance of contributions from DeLay’s PAC, Ryan noted that he received the funds from an organization separate from the PAC involved with DeLay’s recent indictments. Ryan added he did not receive any DeLay funds after 2001, which is prior to the time period referenced in the charges against DeLay.

Ryan also said he had already spent the DeLay campaign monies before the period in question in DeLay’s indictments.

While he backed down from his earlier statement that returning the funds to DeLay would violate campaign finance restrictions — he has since determined he could legally refund the money — Ryan says he has no such plans.

“Those dollars were given legally, were raised legally and were spent in those elections,” Ryan said.

Wineke questioned Ryan’s rationale that the DeLay money has been spent. The Democrat pointed to Ryan’s campaign war chest, which topped $1.3 million in reports filed this summer.

“He has ‘spent the money?’” Wineke asked. “Has he only spent Tom DeLay’s money?”