The “celebrities” for season 9 of Dancing with the Stars have been announced, and Tom DeLay is among them?

• Melissa Joan Hart (actress)
• Kelly Osbourne (reality TV star/singer)
• Aaron Carter (singer)
• Mya (singer)
• Chuck Liddell (Ultimate Fighting Champion)
• Louie Vito (Professional snowboarder)
• Michael Irvin (former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver)
• Natalie Coughlin (six-time gold medalist for swimming)
• Debi Mazar (actress)
• Mark Dacascos (actor)
• Joanna Krupa (swimsuit model)
• Ashley Hamilton (actor)
• Donny Osmond (singer/actor)
• Tom DeLay (politician)
• Kathy Ireland (former supermodel)
• Macy Gray (singer)

I swear that each cast list just gets stranger and stranger on this show.  Although I will say they are getting better at finding people I actually remember from things like Melissa Joan Hart, Kelly Osbourrne, Donny Osmond and a few others, but who in the heck is Mark Dacascos?  Never heard of him before today.

Of course the name every one is focusing on is Tom Delay.

He was the Republican House Majority Leader from 2003–2005, and eventually stepped down over some legal issues.  Doesn’t really matter, just not the kind of guy you imagine dancing a tango or a jive on national television, ya know?

Yes, the cast is the largest yet, and apparently there will be some special eliminations to deal with that.  There will also be new professionals to help with the number of “stars”.

The new season kicks off on September 21st.

UPDATE: Oh!  Mark Dacascos is the “chairman” of Iron Chef America… got ya.