"MATT LAUER: By all accounts these are some tough times for the Republican
party. Last fall Democrats took control of both houses of congress, largely
because of opposition to the war in Iraq. In 2006 the Republican party was also
hit with distracting scandals involving Congressman Mark Foley's inappropriate
emails to male congressional pages and lobbyist Jack Abramoff's corruption case
that brought down several prominent Republican congressmen. This year the phone
number of Republican senator David Vitter turned up in the records of a
Washington, DC escort service, and now recent polls show voters prefer a
Democrat over a Republican by 51-27% and at least one poll found the most
popular choice among Republican presidential candidates is 'none of the above.'
The question now is can any of the damage be reversed? Former House Majority
Leader Tom DeLay served in congress for 22 years and knows personally how
scandals can impact a party. He's also the author of a new book called No
Retreat, No Surrender: One American's Fight. Tom DeLay, congressman, good
morning. TOM DELAY: Good morning, Matt. LAUER: So I went through a litany there,
and maybe I should start by stepping back. We've got two members out of 49
Republican senators in office right now embroiled in controversy. So do we have
a party embroiled in scandal or do we have two bad apples?"
Tom Delay claimed that this question was biased and attacked Matt for the media being biased against the conservatives. This sounds like a tough but fair question to me.
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