GOP dinner to praise DeLay as Dems aim to bury him

DallasNews.com | News for Dallas, Texas | Washington Columnist Todd J. Gillman: "Washington has a long tradition of tribute dinners. Sometimes the honoree is on his way up. Sometimes he's on his way out.

This week, about 850 of Tom DeLay's closest friends will gather for such a dinner, swapping stories and bearhugs and smiling confidently for the cameras as they work to shore up his public image.

But detractors say the clinking glasses at Thursday's event – 'The Conservative Movement Salutes Rep. Tom DeLay' – will sound less like a toast than a political death rattle.

'The event ... is less of a candlelight dinner and more of a candlelight vigil for Tom DeLay,' said Josh Earnest, spokesman for the Democratic National Committee. 'I'm not sure how many of the people who are attending the dinner will admit it, but some of them are going to be playing the role of Mark Antony. They'll be coming to bury Tom DeLay, not to praise him.'"