No More House Coups-by-Suits
Brother Hinderaker has the precisely right take on the freshly-passed "DeLay Rule":
"Ronnie Earle, the Democratic District Attorney in Travis County, Texas, is a notorious partisan who has a history of bringing politically-motivated indictments.
"In September, Earle indicted three aides to Tom DeLay, accusing them of financial improprieties in connection with the Texas legislative elections in 2002. Earle alleges that the aides engaged in 'money laundering.' What happened is that a number of corporations, including Sears, made contributions to the Republican National Committee. The RNC made contributions to Republican legislative candidates, which corporations are not permitted to do.
"That's it. That's the purported 'crime.' Needless to say, these sorts of contributions are made constantly by both parties. Earle's charges are ludicrous, and were made (less than two months before the election) for the sole purpose of embarrassing Delay. The charges will be dismissed and will soon be forgotten.
"It is entirely reasonable to believe, however, that in the meantime, Earle may also indict the Majority Leader. It would be an outrageous injustice for a single, politically-motivated district attorney to dictate who is eligible to serve in a leadership position in the House of Representatives. Thus, the rule change is wise and appropriate."
It also brings GOP caucus rules into line with the ones House Democrats already have.
Inexplicable worry-warts like John Podhoretz need to do a political reality check. The DisLoyal Opposition used criminal persecution to destroy the Speakership of Newt Gingrich. They seek to similarly destroy Tom DeLay for the very same reason - his success in beating the Democrats at their own political game. There is no reason on God's green Earth why Republicans should pretend there's bipartisan moral equivalence and hand the other side their superior ethical virtue as a weapon of mass manipulation.
We don't expect our military troops to go into battle unarmed. Why should we expect it of their political counterparts?
"Ronnie Earle, the Democratic District Attorney in Travis County, Texas, is a notorious partisan who has a history of bringing politically-motivated indictments.
"In September, Earle indicted three aides to Tom DeLay, accusing them of financial improprieties in connection with the Texas legislative elections in 2002. Earle alleges that the aides engaged in 'money laundering.' What happened is that a number of corporations, including Sears, made contributions to the Republican National Committee. The RNC made contributions to Republican legislative candidates, which corporations are not permitted to do.
"That's it. That's the purported 'crime.' Needless to say, these sorts of contributions are made constantly by both parties. Earle's charges are ludicrous, and were made (less than two months before the election) for the sole purpose of embarrassing Delay. The charges will be dismissed and will soon be forgotten.
"It is entirely reasonable to believe, however, that in the meantime, Earle may also indict the Majority Leader. It would be an outrageous injustice for a single, politically-motivated district attorney to dictate who is eligible to serve in a leadership position in the House of Representatives. Thus, the rule change is wise and appropriate."
It also brings GOP caucus rules into line with the ones House Democrats already have.
Inexplicable worry-warts like John Podhoretz need to do a political reality check. The DisLoyal Opposition used criminal persecution to destroy the Speakership of Newt Gingrich. They seek to similarly destroy Tom DeLay for the very same reason - his success in beating the Democrats at their own political game. There is no reason on God's green Earth why Republicans should pretend there's bipartisan moral equivalence and hand the other side their superior ethical virtue as a weapon of mass manipulation.
We don't expect our military troops to go into battle unarmed. Why should we expect it of their political counterparts?
posted by JASmius at 6:28 PM
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