September 28, 2005

The Hammer Got Nailed

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was indicted by a Texas grand jury for campaign finance violations. James Joyner utters the maxim that a "prosecutor could persuade a grand jury to 'indict a ham sandwich.'" The Texas Democratic prosecutor Ronnie Earle has a history of putting partisanship above ethics while also taking down prominent Democrats. Mark Levin read the indictment and writes,

Moreover, not only is there no information about DeLay committing acts in furtherance of a conspiracy, there's no information about DeLay entering into a conspiracy. I honestly believe that unless there's more, this is an egregious abuse of prosecutorial power. It's a disgrace. I understand that not everything has to be contained in an indictment, but how about something!

House Speaker Dennis Hasstert will install Rep. David Dreier has DeLay's temporary replacement. If Dreier is more conducive to spending cuts and real fiscal sanity (yeah right!) I wouldn't mind DeLay riding into the sunset permanently. The GOP doesn't need a stained leader who's been admonished by the ethics committee. DeLay's claim to fame is his redistricting of Texas that will help the Republicans hold on to the House at least through 2006. He's a hardball pol who's now let his quest for continued power interfere with advancing conservative principles. I definitely don't want GOP leaders browbeating their conservative members:

In private meetings last week, GOP leaders sharply criticized rank-and-file Republicans for taking issue with the surge in spending, pleading instead for unity. But neither the public relations offensive nor the private upbraiding has quieted conservatives.

"This leadership group is so out of touch, it's unbelievable," said one House lawmaker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid inflaming leaders further.

"DeLay Indicted in Campaign Finance Probe"

"Tom Delay Indicted by Texas Grand Jury"

"Ton DeLay Indicted"

UPDATE: Julian Sanchez speaks like a good anarchist. Paleo William Anderson hates the abuse of conspiracy in criminal prosecution even though he's no fan of DeLay.