Party primary elections are taking place today in Texas, and there will be more attention than usual on the Republican primary in the 22nd District, where incumbent Tom DeLay will face three challengers. DeLay’s legal problems have made him more vulnerable than many expected, with some once-loyal supporters having second thoughts and one challenger, Tom Campbell, winning the endorsement of the Houston Chronicle over the weekend. DeLay is still expected by most to win, although there is a chance he could face a runoff next month with his top challenger should he fail to get 50 percent of the vote today.
Naturally, there is a lot of interest in this election both among the general public—given his high profile as former majority leader, and his legal problems—and among NASA supporters, because of his strong support for the space agency. But even in a worst-case scenario in today’s election, there are other ways Tom DeLay can help NASA, according to High-Performance Composites magazine:
Tom DeLay, a researcher in the area of nonmetallic materials and processes at NASA’s Marshall Space Center (Huntsville, Ala.), notes that the many composite cryogenic tank development programs initiated over the years have certainly resulted in technology improvements, yet most had budgetary and schedule constraints that did not permit researchers to identify or qualify the optimum materials for cryogenic environments.
It’s ironic that this Tom DeLay is complaining about budgetary constraints…
[Thanks to Monte Davis for bringing this article to my attention.]
