Travis County DA Ronnie Earle's stench is all over this .....Tis. There was another article by the WP on this.
See #30-31 here:
GOP Pushes Rule Change To Protect DeLay's Post
Posted on 11/17/2004 10:58:25 AM PST by freepatriot32
WASHINGTON (Nov. 17) - House Republicans wrestled Wednesday with ways to keep Rep. Tom DeLay as majority leader in the event he is indicted by Texas grand jury that has brought charges against three of his political associates.
Meeting several hours behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, GOP members discussed compromises that would try to insulate their leader without giving blanket protection to party leaders indicted on felony charges.
DeLay, R-Texas, called the campaign finance investigation in Travis County, Texas a partisan attack on him, even though there has been no indication that he faces an indictment.
A House Republican rule requires that GOP leaders step down if indicted on charges that could bring a prison term of at least two years. Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas, has proposed that this step-aside rule apply only to federal felony indictments.
That plan ran into immediate trouble, several law makers said, when questions were raised about protecting members who hypothetically could be indicted for murder or other charges that would clearly be non-political. The Republican lawmakers then considered a compromise that would not distinguish between federal and state indictments, but would have the Republican Steering Committee- a group of more than two dozen members - determine whether an indictment was frivolous.
Under this proposal, the steering committee would have to make a decision in 30 days and the indicted leader would have to step aside temporarily while the committee deliberated.
The House Republican Conference, consisting of all House Republicans, would likely make the final decision on whether the leader had to relinquish his or her post.
The grand jury is probing alleged irregularities in 2002 state legislative races. Republican victories in those contests enabled DeLay ultimately to win support for a congressional redistricting plan that resulted in the GOP's gain of five House seats in Texas in this month's elections.
House Democrats have a step-aside provision that applies to both federal and state proceedings similar to the current Republican rule, and their leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, was highly critical of the GOP proposal.
''If they make this rules change, Republicans will confirm yet again that they simply do not care if their leaders are ethical. If Republicans believe that an indicted member should be allowed to hold a top leadership position in the House of Representatives, their arrogance is astonishing,'' Pelosi said.
In September, the grand jury indicted three political operatives associated with DeLay and eight companies, alleging campaign finance violations related to corporate money spent in the 2002 legislative races. The corporate donations were made to Texans for a Republican Majority, a political action committee created with help from DeLay.
DeLay said he was not questioned or subpoenaed as part of the investigation, led by retiring prosecutor Ronnie Earle.
The majority leader said after the indictments, ''This has been a dragged-out 500-day investigation, and you do the political math. This is no different than other kinds of partisan attacks that have been leveled against me that are dropped after elections.''
In October, the House ethics committee rebuked DeLay for appearing to link political donations to a legislative favor and improperly persuading U.S. aviation authorities to intervene in the Texas redistricting dispute.
---
Associated Press Writer Suzanne Gamboa contributed to this report
' Myself, I'd make him Speaker in a second.'
Now THAT would cause an uproar!
Delay did nothing wrong and these little hack democrats in Travis County are the ones who should be in jail.
What would be the harm in having Delay "temporarily" step aside? It's only a title - things can still be run from behind the scene. Then when he is exonerated, the GOP caucus will retain its shining image.
Doing something like this (suspending rules) makes it look very unprincipaled (or shall I saw "Flip-FLoppy")
Travis County DA Ronnie Earle's stench is all over this. He is one of the sorriest POS, but gets reelected because pf all the libs here. I wish those SOBs would move to Hollyweird, San Fran-way-out-yonder-cisco or NY city. The ONLY blue county in Central Texas. YUCKY RATs.
Where to begin...
I think "POTUS" should just be "POS".
You are not famililiar with Ronnie Earle the Austin dem operative DA who is behind these indictments..
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2003-11-07/pols_feature7.html
scroll down and see the power he has state wide...
You do not know Texas and what the dems have been doing in Texas for generations as far a s drawing districts..see #27
Scroll down and see Ronnie Earle and the power he has statewide even though he is DA of Travis county(Our little bit O Berkeley)
No, I am right there with you. I also think that Gerrymandering in general is wrong, whether it benefits Dems or Repubs.
Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaa .. but it will send the liberals over the edge some more :0)
Too bad. Go start a thread and complain about how representative California is. They make Texas look pro-Democrat.
Travis County DA Ronnie Earle's stench is all over this .....Tis. There was another article by the WP on this.
See #30-31 here:
GOP Pushes Rule Change To Protect DeLay's Post
WELL IF WE CAN CHANGE THE RULES HERE, LETS CHANGE THEM REGARDING SPECTOR!!!
www.werewussyrepublicanssodontyellatus.com
The media would be able to get far more damaging mileage out of DeLay's stepping down(while nearly ignoring his vindication and return) than a rule change, which has a much shorter shelf-life. Especially if the GOP does its job and hammers home exactly why the change is necessary, and outline's Earle's sordid history of political prosecutions and subsequent failures.
No. Delay is a scumbag even if he is on our side. His leadership position is a blight on the GOP.
Why?
They are p'ed because DeLay redistricted Texas which led to major Republican gains in Texas.
Tom DeLay is the linchpin of our power. His leadership of the conservatives in the House is the most potent force we have.
If you're going to call him names and cast aspersions on the man, perhaps you could deign to give a little more than venom. Facts to back up your slur would be most appreciated.
You obviously know nothing of Travis County and its notoriously partisan District Attorney, democrat Ronnie Earle. He habitually indicts political opponents (conservative, both Republican and democrat). One that comes to mind is an indictment of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson for misuse of state phones in an election campaign. He got an indictment and, after legal costs for preparing a defense were incurred, dropped the charges for lack of evidence. He did this on the day the trial was scheduled to start.
She wasn't tried, but got stuck with defense costs. The taxpayers were stuck with prosecution costs. Ronnie Earle got re-elected by the Bush-bashing majority of Travis county.
Earle routinely uses his office to harrass opponents. The indictment Delay's associates is only one more example.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
