Tom DeLay - Life After Congress

Life After Congress

Since leaving Congress, along with tending to his legal troubles, DeLay has co-authored (with Stephen Mansfield) a political memoir, No Retreat, No Surrender: One American's Fight, given media interviews (primarily regarding politics), begun a personal blog, opened an official Facebook page (written in the third-person), become active on Twitter (written in the first-person), and appeared on the ninth season of Dancing with the Stars, the highly watched ABC television reality show. Previously, in season three of Dancing with the Stars, DeLay publicly campaigned for "his good friend, country music singer, and GOP supporter" Sara Evans, before she withdrew from competition on the show due to her very public and ugly divorce from her then-husband, Republican politico Craig Schelske. On August 19, 2009, while promoting his participation on the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars, DeLay made political news when he became perhaps the most famous Republican to date to promote the "birther" conspiracy theory about President Obama.

According to his personal website, since leaving office DeLay has also founded a strategic political consulting firm, First Principles LLC. And, "in addition to his political and business work," the "Meet Tom" section of his site says, "DeLay travels around the country delivering speeches to conservative organizations, Republican events, and college campuses." This "Meet Tom" section adds that "DeLay also spends a great deal of his time... traveling around the country and meeting with major donors, fundraisers, and political operatives, encouraging them to pay more attention to what the Left is accomplishing and how, and asking for their involvement with more outside organizations." DeLay ascribes divine motivation to his political efforts since leaving Congress. "God has spoken to me," the former House Majority Leader told an interviewer. "I listen to God, and what I’ve heard is that I’m supposed to devote myself to rebuilding the conservative base of the Republican Party, and I think we shouldn’t be underestimated."

"Meet Tom" from DeLay's website concludes by saying that the former congressman and his wife "continue to be outspoken advocates for foster care reform and are actively involved in a unique foster care community in Richmond, Texas, that provides safe, permanent homes for abused and neglected kids." (Rio Bend, a "Christ-centered" community which the DeLays founded, opened in 2005.)