The Conservative Revolution 323the strategy by which Bush was elected both governor of Texas and
President of the United States.
Equally important to an extent was the minority whip in the House,
Tom DeLay of Texas. He was another staunchly conservative Republi-
can who played political hardball and virtually cut the Democrats out
of any involvement in the business of the House. He masterminded
what was called the K Street Project, named after the street in Wash-
ington where many lobbying fi rms are located. The word soon went
out that if lobbyists wished to have any influence on legislation, their
financial contributions had to be Republican. Supporting Democrats
would ensure defeat for any project the lobbyists might advance. Be-
cause many former members of Congress remained in Washington af-
ter they retired (or were retired by the electorate), they joined various
lobbying companies and had easy access to the power brokers in Con-
gress. Therefore, a great deal of lobbyists’ money fl owed into Republi-
cans’ campaigns, and with this advantage Tom DeLay exercised strict
discipline on Republican House members. The Texas legislature solidi-
fied his leadership by gerrymandering five additional Republican dis-
tricts, which increased that party’s majority in the U.S. House of
Representatives. After the midterm election of 2002 the Republicans
also controlled the Senate. Now the two branches of the federal
government—the White House and Congress—were under one party,
which meant that the President could and did dictate national policy.
Throughout his first term Bush did not veto a single piece of legislation.
After a rather turbulent life as a young man, Bush became a born- again
Christian, thanks to the efforts of his wife, Laura, and the Reverend
Billy Graham. As President, he therefore inaugurated what he called a
“faith-based initiative” to provide federal support for church-related pro-
grams that would include such services as helping teenagers avoid preg-
nancy. He also forbade federal support of stem- cell research, one of the
most modern techniques for exploring new ways to combat disease and
advance health care. Clearly affiliated with the Religious Right, some-
thing Karl Rove believed would solidify the President’s conservative base
and provide Republicans domination of national politics for years to
come, Bush expected his administration to be morally above reproach,
thereby restoring virtue to the operation of government.
One of his most important actions, taken soon after his inauguration,