Posted on 09/30/2005 11:00:29 AM PDT by smoothsailing
SEP. 30, 2005: DELAY DEFENDED
With due respect to the always cogent editors of NR, the pithiest defense of Tom DeLay comes - from of all unlikely people - Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne. Dionne this morning puts his finger on the central and hopeless flaw in the case against DeLay: "The corporations that forked over the cash to DeLay's PAC did so not because their hearts were filled with affection for those particular Texas legislative candidates but because they recognized DeLay's power over federal legislation."
Texas law forbids corporations to give money to state candidates. The case against DeLay charges that he conspired with corporations to help them circumvent this law by routing the money through political action committees he controlled.
But as Dionne acknowledges, the corporations in question did not care about Texas politics. They wanted to give to DeLay's political action committees, which was perfectly legal. It was DeLay who wanted to support the Texas candidates - which was also perfectly legal. The only way you can link these two legal transactions into one illegal transaction is by claiming that the corporations wanted to break the law.
Dionne - his reporter's instincts trumping his partisan zeal - admits that of course the corporations had no such desire, and so there was no crime.
To put this into simpler terms. Suppose a corporation hired Dionne to give a speech at their next annual meeting. Dionne then turns around and gives his fee to Democratic candidates for the Texas legislature. Has any law been broken? Obviously not. The corporation does not intend to help Texas candidates: It does so only inadvertently and indirectly, as a consequence of Dionne's decisions.
But as Dionne goes on to explain there is one big difference between my hypothetical and the actual case of Tom DeLay:
"DeLay insists he did nothing illegal, but even if he wins the case, the core facts speak to the hubris of the new machine politics. Drawing congressional district lines for political purposes is an old story, but DeLay went a step further. He got the Texas Legislature to toss out a congressional map that had been drawn only two years earlier, an unprecedented act of political gamesmanship."
DeLay's real crime is to have redesigned Texas congressional districting to beat Democrats. That's his unpardonable offense in the eyes of his accusers. On that count, he is of course guilty as charged - only it so happens that beating Democrats is not a crime in this country. Not yet anyway.
Dionne douses DeLay debacle. Frum Diary delves de defense of DeLay. Dems dumbfounded.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
Travis County and therein about that inspires the National Guard drama and Delay inditements. New Jersey, or LA. No, I better throw my own state into the running after their insertion of Gregoire in the Governor's mansion.
Dionne is only throwing cold water on this because Earle was ruining their '06 charge it's Republicans that are criminal.
On that count, he is of course guilty as charged - only it so happens that beating Democrats is not a crime in this country. Not yet anyway.
Well, Kos-DU-Michael Moore- here is your mission if you choose to accept it. Criminalize defeating a Democrat. Take it to the highest Court in the land before Bush consolidates his power there.
Did you see hipaatwo's post about the York piece on "The Ronnie Earle Movie"?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1493826/posts>
Earle has got to be a laughing stock in legal circles.
I don't remember the numbers but Republican congressional candidates got more votes than Dems state wide but the Dems had many more congressmen. It wasn't fair the way Dems had drawn the lines.
"Dionne douses DeLay debacle. Frum Diary delves de defense of DeLay. Dems dumbfounded."
No it's:
Dionne douses DeLay debacle. David's Diary delves de defense of DeLay. Dems dumbfounded.
Is there any law in Texas against frivolous or malicious prosecution? It's a definite abuse of the prosecutorial power, after all.
This can't be. We got the corporate money out of politics -- just ask McCain.
Dionne also knows that Donnie Earle MAY be in some legal trouble over the MOVIE that's being made about this....he let the movie-makers have access for TWO YEARS!! Geesh....talk about unethical!!
Yep.
As it stands the more exposure of this, the better for Delay. The opposite for the Democrats.
If Delay wasn't so vigorously defnding himself at the outset it might be different. As he is, it's a losing hand for them.
They'll still return to Delay when trial starts hoping for something to develop, but if if nothing does (and nothing will) it fizzles with Delay's redemption on the back pages of the papers.
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