Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich ratcheted up the temperature at last night’s Bloomberg/Washington Post GOP Debate when, in response to a question about the financial meltdown, Gingrich suggested the jailing of Rep. Barney Frank and former Sen. Chris Dodd.

Frank shot back last night, noting that “It’s interesting, the charge is failure to stop Newt Gingrich and Tom Delay from deregulating,” and called the charge odd “even by Gingrich’s standards.”

A few days after Tom Delay was sentenced to three years in prison, he showed up on Hardball to defend himself. They also had a fun conversation about gun control that led to Chris Matthews accusing Delay of “laughing like a car bomber.”

AP is reporting that Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has been sentenced to three years in prison on conspiracy charges. In November, Delay was also convicted on money laundering charges for violating Texas law when he used corporate donations to support Republican candidates Delay supported.

Former Republican Texas Congressman and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay may have a little less to be thankful for this year than most other Americans seasoning their turkeys tonight– a jury found him guilty today several money laundering charges that could add up to a lifetime prison sentence.

Jim Bunning‘s one-man (faux) filibuster this week – which halted the Senate on voting for a health care bill that would extend unemployment benefits – certainly hit a nerve with both the left and right. It didn’t really “help” the Republican cause, as Candy Crowly suggested in today’s State of The Union, to champion another old rich guy who comes off as hating unemployed people. Tom Delay disagrees! But that’s because these studies he read proves that people don’t look for jobs until their benefits run out.

Tom Delay was forced to withdraw from Dancing with the Stars a number of weeks ago due to stress fractures in both his feet. However he healed enough to return to the dance floor during Tuesday night’s live finale. The former Republican House Majority Leader told AOL’s Politics Daily on Monday “I’m so excited to dance. I’m much more comfortable now that I’m not competing.”

Judge Jeanine Pirro, Rev. Al Sharpton and Ann Coulter joined Geraldo Rivera on Geraldo at Large last night to talk about the standing allegations against New York Rep. Charlie Rangel. Everyone was taken aback to hear Ann Coulter defend Rangel — you can even hear a few whoas in the background. But then again Coulter’s main defense was that Rangel’s alleged ethics violations are ‘only a little bit worse than what Tom Delay was accused of.’

It’s Friday, which means it’s time to separate the chumps from the champs in Mediaite’s new “Winners and Losers” — our scorecard of who rocked and who flopped in the week’s headlines. This week’s contenders include: Michael Vick, giving reality-redemption a shot, Don Imus, back on TV and already taking cheap shots, and Tom Delay, who samba-ed away his own chances at Dancing With The Stars glory. But wait, there’s more!

Is Tom DeLay‘s participation in this season of Dancing with the Stars:

a. A cynical ploy by DeLay to claw his way back into the spotlight?

b. A cynical ploy by Dancing with the Stars producers to get media types who would otherwise have no interest in the show to write about it?

c. Something that the rank-and-file DWTS viewer probably couldn’t care less about?

Former Republican House Majority Leader Tom Delay made his long-awaited debut on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” on Monday, and the media’s reaction yesterday seemed to focus on showing that “The Hammer” is a tool. While the spectacle of Delay cutting a rug and talking about “getting in touch with (his) feminine side” has undeniable trainwreck appeal, is it really appropriate to pile on a guy who is clearly having fun at his own expense?

Jake Tapper wasn’t joking when he broke the news that former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was going to compete in Season 9 of Dancing With The Stars. Well, last night, The Hammer made his reality TV debut. Here’s the video:

Dancing With the Stars contestant Tom DeLay used he newfound reality show relevance to sidle his way onto Hardball this evening to weigh in on the crazy town halls sweeping the nation and his “pomp” dancing shoes. Dancing can make one “light,” apparently. Also, he’s still waiting for President Obama to produce his “real” birth certificate.

Well if this doesn’t qualify as the slumpiest of summer news slump stories I’m not sure what does (Montauk Monster, notwithstanding). This morning we told you about Tom Delay‘s foray into the world of reality TV; he’ll be competing on the season’s Dancing With the Stars. Now comes word that Delay has also entered the Twitter fray and launched a new website. Is this the beginning of the road back to relevance?

What do you do when everyone thinks you’re A) washed up at the grand ol’ age of 19 B) a notorious dog killer or C) somewhat unlikable? Why, you take Kathy Griffin to the Teen Choice Awards, beg for forgiveness on the “Tiffany Network’s” most pristine and well-aged show or learn the paso doble with [...]

Jake Tapper twittered earlier this morning that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay will be competing on Dancing With the Stars this season. Um. Can that be true?

Good Morning America is announcing the new cast this morning so the timing makes sense at least (though we’d admittedly be impressed to discover that Tapper was capable of pulling a Twitter practical joke of this sort). But still! It would certainly give a whole new meaning to Hammer time. UPDATE: He’s in!