The Washington Post starts off with a nice description of Delay’s drop out:

The pending resignation of former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), once one of the most powerful lawmakers in Washington, comes amid a federal criminal investigation that already has reached into his inner circle of longtime advisers.

DeLay faces a trial later this year on money-laundering charges in Texas that stems from an October 2005 indictment related to corporate contributions to state elections in 2001 and 2002. Since then, two former aides and one of his most prominent contributors have pleaded guilty in a separate federal probe to crimes including conspiracy; wire, tax and mail fraud; and corruption of public officials.

The picture appeared to darken further last week with the guilty plea of Tony C. Rudy, DeLay’s former deputy chief of staff. Edwin A. Buckham, the lawmaker’s former chief of staff and his closest political and spiritual adviser, was described in court documents filed in the case as someone who collaborated with Rudy, Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former DeLay aide Michael Scanlon. They arranged payments, trips and favors that the department’s investigators charged were part of an illegal conspiracy, according to the documents.

Considering the timing of this announcement, there is not much doubt that the guilty plea of Rudy has something to do with it. The Democrats have already released a late night statement on the announcement:

Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney today issued the following statement in response to reports that scandal-plagued former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has decided to withdraw from his re-election race:

“Tom DeLay’s announcement is just the beginning of the reckoning of the Republican culture of corruption that has gripped Washington for too long. From DeLay, to Scooter Libby, to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, to Duke Cunningham, to Bob Ney, to David Safavian — the list goes on and on. Make no mistake, this Fall the American people are going to have a clear choice between Democrats who offer a bold vision based on honest leadership and real security, and Republicans who can only offer more of the same Republican culture of corruption and incompetence.”

Perhaps we are on the dawning of a new age where these criminals running our country will no longer get by. Perhaps people are going to start holding them accountable for their horrible deeds. Only time will tell but with someone like Delay going down, we are definitely looking at a great start.