DeLay gives up the fight to keep job

Indicted Rep. Tom DeLay, the Texas Republican who stepped down temporarily as House majority leader to handle his growing legal problems, has decided not to try to get the leadership post back, the WashPost reports.

Besides his existing problems -- little things like money laundering charges -- DeLay was very closely tied to Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has copped a plea and agreed to turn state's witness. There is bound to be more bad news for DeLay.

Now we will never know whether any of Wisconsin's four House Republicans -- Mark Green, F. Jim Sensenbrenner, Tom Petri and Paul Ryan -- would have ever had the courage and the integrity to vote to remove him.

We certainly didn't hear talk about any of them being ready to sign a petition to force an election to replace DeLay. Here's a list of 14 who were, but no one from Wisconsin is on it.

But, then again, the Wisconsin news media never asked any of them.