Breaking: Tom DeLay won't seek re-election in November

There doesn't seem to be an in-depth explanation yet, but there'll be plenty of speculation starting tomorrow.

DeLay has already won the Republican primary in his district, and he still has an alarming ability to raise buckets of cash. And he certainly has no conscience. So what gives? New damning evidence of his past misdeeds? Some horrendous new tale from Jack Abramoff? Has his former campaign aide (the one who just confessed to conspiracy charges) decided to squeal? The thing is, DeLay has so many ties to so many crooks it's impossible to know. But like I said, the blogs will be flooded with stories about this tomorrow, so stay tuned.

UPDATE: The title link will take you to the first article I've seen on the story. It also reports that DeLay is actually resigning his House seat. Good riddance. DeLay is a vile human being (as demonstrated by the huge number of attempts to sound pious in his announcement), a criminal, and a blight on our nation.

One burning question has already emerged in the wake of DeLay's announcement: will he once again game the system to influence national politics? DeLay has apparently mentioned that his method for getting out of the election, having won the primary, will be to change his legal residence. The question is whether that will force a special election that could throw the House seat to whatever Republican candidate gets the nod. Since someone would have to win 51% of the vote, and independents could join the fray, it seems designed to splinter opposition to DeLay.