A New York Times article on the indictment of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) reported that his moniker -- “the Hammer” -- is not “a nickname anyone uses with Mr. Delay himself.” But contrary to the Times' claim, the nickname was repeatedly used by his supporters during a recent event in tribute to DeLay, and news reports indicate he is proud of his “reputation as the Hammer.”

From the September 29 Times article, "DeLay is Indicted In Texas Case and Forfeits G.O.P. House Post":

Mr. DeLay has been a linchpin of Republican success over the past decade, since playing a role in the Republican takeover of the House in 1994. He is often called the Hammer in print for his hard-nosed approach, though it is not a nickname anyone uses with Mr. DeLay himself.

The Times' assertion that no one uses the nickname in DeLay's presence appears to have originated with a March 3, 2004, Roll Call article (subscription required), which suggested that the nickname is a media creation and asserted that none of DeLay's colleagues actually refer to him by it. The article included a quote from John Feehery, who at the time worked for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL), but who “was the Texas vote-wrangler's spokesman in 1995,” denying that anyone calls DeLay “the Hammer” and suggesting that DeLay has more finesse than the moniker would indicate: “Actually that's a misnomer, because DeLay is much more subtle than a hammer.”

But DeLay himself apparently embraced the nickname in the mid-1990s. While the earliest references to the nickname available on Nexis do not precisely indicate its origin (though one reports that, according to a Democratic House press secretary, he gave himself the moniker) a March 2, 1996, National Journal article reported his enjoyment of it:

Still, lobbyists say that DeLay seems to take pleasure in the image that he's developed as a bare-knuckles politico. At a lunch soon after The Washington Post referred to DeLay as the Hammer, one of his aides told a lobbyist that ''he likes the reputation of being the Hammer.''

And an April 16, 2003, article in The Hill reported that shortly after the Republican caucus elected DeLay as House majority leader, he presented the incoming House majority whip, Roy Blunt -- now the interim majority leader -- with a hammer:

In January, when House Republicans elected their leaders for the 108th Congress, DeLay gave Blunt a velvet-covered hammer, a reference to his own nickname, “The Hammer,” which he earned for using tough whipping tactics. He predicted Blunt would crack down on recalcitrant lawmakers as hard as he had but would do it in a subtle way that stung less.

More recently, the Times reported that a $2,000-a-table tribute dinner held in Washington, D.C., in May included numerous references to DeLay's nickname: “Mr. DeLay was served a red-white-and-blue cake festooned with sparklers and plastic hammers -- a reference to his nickname, the Hammer -- while the band played 'If I Had a Hammer.' ”

The Washington Post further noted the repeated use of DeLay's nickname during the event:

Amid the rhetorical red meat, guests dined on filet mignon and salmon, topped off by frosted marble cake with chocolate hammers. At one table, diners grabbed for the edible hammers like kids at a birthday party. “Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats and it will facilitate the serving of our hammer desserts,” implored [American Conservative Union board member Cleta] Mitchell. When no one listened, she shushed into the microphone and asked, “Where is the Hammer when you need him?”