The government watch-dog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, once named Tom Delay among the most corrupt politicians in America. Monday night, the staff of CREW has organized a party at Washington, D.C. watering hole to watch the former House Majority Leader don heels and sparkles as a contestant on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."

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Melanie Sloan, the founder of CREW, spoke with Politics Daily about why CREW is celebrating Delay's dance debut, what will be on the drink menu, and which other Washington politicians she says are doing an ethical dance of their their own in Congress today.

Q. Is there a serious message behind this party, or is it just to watch Tom Delay dance?

A. No. It's just fun. We figure everyone in Washington is going to be watching, but we're just the ones willing to admit it.

I expect the ratings will be huge here. We just had the party because we knew we all wanted to watch it and we thought it would be much more fun to watch it at a bar together with a drink.

Q. Will there be special cocktails at the party?

A. We'll be serving a Hammer-tini and a Dirty Delay.

Q. When you named him one of the most corrupt politicians in Washington, did you ever think he would end up at this point in his career?

A. No. I think his downfall is just astonishing. If it was fiction you wouldn't believe it. Truth is stranger than fiction and it's so much fun that you want to have fun with it.

It's absurd that the former majority leader is a dance reality contestant. How can you not have fun with that?

Q. Are you going to be wearing a special outfit?

A. No. Tom Delay is the one in the special outfit.

Q. Who is CREW's most corrupt politician in Washington right now?

A. We don't name the most corrupt, because you can always find out a new fact about somebody tomorrow that puts them head and shoulders above everybody else. We name the top 15, but the person I am most troubled by on a daily basis is Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.).

Q. Do you think Murtha can dance?

A. I think Murtha is doing a pretty good dance right now to keep himself from being indicted.

Q. Is Tom Delay still under indictment?

A. He is still under indictment and he is still under federal investigation.

Q. Do you want Tom Delay to go to jail, or is "Dancing with the Stars" punishment enough?

A. Tom Delay needs to go to jail. He may be out of Congress, but the way he elevated pay-to-play to a new art form is still resounding in Washington. Things are not all better. Generally speaking, politicians believe people should be held responsible for their misdeeds.

Q. Can anybody come to your party tonight?

A. Yes. The more the merrier. We'll have several televisions going and everyone is invited. It's a non-partisan event; it doesn't matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat. This is a spectacle too big to miss.


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