Even before he fell from power, Tom DeLay and Vision America's Rick Scarborough had been very close, with DeLay appearing via video at Scarborough's "Confronting the Judicial War on Faith" Conference back in 2005 and in person at Scarborough's "War on Christians" conference the following year just days before he resigned from Congress.
Since then, DeLay and Scarborough have maintained their relationship, with DeLay even appearing at Scarborough's church to proclaim that "America was created by God to spread the Gospel; to spread the word of Jesus Christ and to propagate Christianity" and as a weekly guest on Scarborough's radio program.
On Wednesday, a jury found DeLay guilty of money laundering and throughout the trial Scarborough sat in the courtroom to demonstrate his support and insists that DeLay has been railroaded:
Rick Scarborough, former pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pearland and founder of Vision America, sat through much of DeLay's trial. Scarborough said he became friends with DeLay because of his strong Christian faith and commitment to life. When he visited DeLay in Washington, he said, they would end meetings in prayer.
"We'd drop to our knees, read Scripture and pray. With Tom, it wasn't an act," Scarborough said.
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Scarborough said he is convinced DeLay is innocent and his conviction will be overturned on appeal. Scarborough said he believes DeLay drew fire because he was one of the best and most effective House leaders in history.
"Tom did what Tom has always done. He learned the system," Scarborough said. "He used it within the framework of the law. He is simply better at it than anybody before him, and they crucified him for it."
And the reason DeLay was "crucified", Scarborough explained back in 2006, was because he was an exemplary Christian:
"I believe the most damaging thing that Tom DeLay has done in his life is take his faith seriously into public office, which made him a target for all those who despise the cause of Christ," Scarborough said, introducing DeLay yesterday. When DeLay finished, the host reminded the politician: "God always does his best work right after a crucifixion."
