So the options for the GOP right now range from tough to tougher. Despite its lack of short-term solutions, the Bush energy bill is the Republican Party's sole proffered fix for high gas prices and other energy woes -- the political consequences of failing to pass it are unthinkable. But so is the impact, given the current climate, of creating legal immunity for an industry with a growing constituency of critics, using a provision now surrounded with an aura of corruption, or at least the perception of corruption.

Call it the mainstreaming of MTBE bashing: According to the most recent tallies, more than 20 million people in 112 congressional districts have been affected by MTBE-polluted drinking water -- the count of communities affected has risen by by more than 20 percent over the past two years -- and in 26 of those districts, municipalities have taken to the courts to force oil companies to fix the problem. More suits are on the way -- representing a lot of potentially angry voters.

The White House faces its own set of unappetizing options. Passing the energy bill remains priority No. 1 in the face of growing public pressure. But now the administration faces the very real prospect that a win on the energy bill could indirectly taint them with fallout from the DeLay mess.

What explains the Hammer's die-hard loyalty to liability immunity for MTBE? He's long stood up for the chemical industry out of conservative principle, and most MTBE manufacturers are Texas-based. But DeLay's detractors point to another motive closer to the bottom line: A recent Public Citizen tally of five years of contributions to DeLay's legal defense fund found that $107,000 came from energy and natural resources companies. His political action committee has been the recipient of even greater industry largesse; according to the Center for Responsive Politics, oil and gas companies, many of whom stand to benefit from the MTBE immunity provision, have donated more than $300,000 over the last three election cycles.

Last year, DeLay drew a rebuke from the Ethics Committee because he "at a minimum, created the appearance that donors were being provided with special access ... regarding the then-pending energy legislation." But it appears the congressman, never one to put much stock in appearances, hasn't yet taken that message to heart. Huntsman Corp., one of the nation's largest MTBE producers, has demonstrated a surge in DeLay-directed generosity over the past few months. Jon M. Huntsman Sr., Huntsman Corp., the Huntsman PAC and company CEO Peter Huntsman all gave the maximum contribution to the DeLay's legal defense fund in the last quarter of 2004; the $20,000 total put them in the top tier of his supporters. (And Huntsman's loyalty to DeLay doesn't stop there: Last January, the company hired the congressman's former deputy chief of staff, Tony Rudy, along with two of his colleagues from the Washington firm Alexander Strategies, to round out their formidable energy bill lobbying team.)

Besides protecting companies from the spate of MTBE-related lawsuits filed since late 2003, the House bill calls for phasing out the additive's use over a nine-year stretch. The increasingly handout-loaded bill would also give MTBE producers a $2 billion golden parachute to help with industry transition costs. Democrats are urging a faster phaseout plan that would end the additive's use by the end of the decade, and they are criticizing the GOP's generosity. "These [Republican] provisions represent a direct assault on the nation's safe drinking-water supply," a frustrated John Dingell, the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told reporters. "MTBE producers have known for years that MTBE was a problem. They should not be asking the taxpayers to now pay for cleanup or for [a] corporate handout."

The GOP is clearly nervous about how the measure will play outside the Beltway. Anticipating the energy bill's House passage this week, Republican leadership launched a communications strategy on Tuesday designed to boost public support for the measure despite the lack of an immediate impact at the pump -- and to try to shift attention from the swarm of ethical questions surrounding Tom DeLay. The working idea, borrowed from the Bush administration, is to circumvent the national media, with its fixation on DeLay's corporate connections, in favor of local outlets. Republican representatives planned to blanket local airwaves using messages specifically developed for their region. (For instance: The winter-weary, blackout-wary Northeast is set to hear about home-heating cost assistance and an overhaul of the national power grid.)

Meanwhile, the White House's massive push for the energy plan has moved into high gear. The president devoted his radio address last Saturday to pressing the point, and he followed up a recent Hill lobbying visit by Energy Secretary Sam Bodman with scheduled meetings of his own yesterday with the chairmen of the House and Senate committees dealing with the bill. In a speech on Wednesday, he repeated his call for speedy passage. So far, the administration has kept largely mum on its views of both the MTBE provision and Tom DeLay's recent actions. As history draws closer to repeating itself, that may change, though success is far from certain; last time, White House calls for an MTBE compromise drew a public rebuff from the majority leader. ("We see no need for a giveaway to trial lawyers," sneered a DeLay spokesman shortly before the energy bill went down in flames.)

"I think if it comes down to having an energy bill or MTBE, the White House will speak out," says an organizer for a major environmental group actively opposing the legislation. "So the question is, does the cloud surrounding him, combined with the substance of this provision, cause Bush to speak out? The clearer it becomes that you can't have this liability shield and the bill both -- the question then is, not will the administration speak out publicly, but are they ready to pull out all the stops?"

Privately, even some GOP representatives who publicly support the measure have begun telling environmental lobbyists to keep the spotlight on Tom DeLay and what they view as the bill's flaws, particularly the MTBE provision. "What's ironic is, the White House has almost everything it wants in this bill, including ANWR. They did their best to strip it down to its bare essence, to ensure passage. Now this comes up," says Cook, of the Environmental Working Group Action Fund. "But Tom DeLay doesn't answer to anyone but himself."

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