PamRotella.com

Tom Delay finally gets his mug shot
[Posted 22 October 2005]

In my computer contracts through the years, I once worked for a conservative Texas Republican, the CFO of a successful company. Shortly after 9-11, I was in Houston (a branch office of the New York company), and the economy's troubles after 9-11 came up over a big lunch with the Houston co-workers. To my surprise, the CFO's face turned bright red... and then he warned us not to let anyone tell us that the bad economy was from 9-11. He said that the economy was already tanking before then, and that Bush was just using 9-11 as an excuse. Of course, I already agreed that Bush used 9-11 as a cover for his own failures, but wouldn't have dared to say it in front of my boss, thinking his politics would never let him admit that a Texas Republican could be wrong. But I guess that's what makes him a CFO -- he's not easily fooled in the financial world.

BUT THEN, the boss went on to shock us all by saying that Bush wasn't half as crazy as Tom DeLay or Dick Armey, that DeLay and Armey were the ones to watch. He also gave us examples of some of the craziest things they'd done and said, and frankly, they were pretty crazy. From the mouth of a Texas Republican. This taught me not to assume I had peoples' politics figured out in advance, and also that all Republicans aren't in line with the bible-thumping, clinic-bombing, death-sentencing, impoverished-slandering yahoos who claim to represent them.

Well, computer contracts end and I don't work for the man anymore, but I'm sure Tom DeLay's mugshot brought a smile to his face yesterday:

"Rep. Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader who faces conspiracy and money laundering charges, turned himself in Thursday in Houston, one day after an arrest warrant was issued for him.

"DeLay walked into the bonding department of the Harris County Sheriff's Office shortly after noon and was fingerprinted, photographed and released after posting $10,000 bond, sheriff's spokeswoman Lisa Martinez said.

"DeLay's district office is in Sugar Land, a Houston suburb."
- Smiling DeLay turns himself in for booking, 21 October 2005 (CNN)

I've been to Sugarland before. It's just a suburb of Houston, which has so much smog these days that it reminds me of Los Angeles. Of course, DeLay didn't take his legal troubles like a man. He never does. He expects to get away with everything, all the time, and that no one will ever put an end to any portion of his corruption.

This is all because the prosecutor has a vendetta against him, his attorney whined:
"Outside the building, DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin blasted prosecutor Ronnie Earle, accusing him of singling out the Texas Republican for political retribution and planning to use DeLay's mug shot in Democratic mailings.

"'He's got what he wanted. There's no reason for this. It was pure retaliation on the part of Ronnie Earle,' DeGuerin said, holding up DeLay's mug shot. 'There he is. Take a good look at him.'

"He also said the defense team 'will expose his prosecution for what he is.'"

Yeah, uh, expose the prosecution? DeLay has engaged in a lot of politics over the years, and he's not known for his honesty. A lot of government officials get away with criminal activities for years, but I guess DeLay just doesn't know history. A few people at the top may skate, or be acquitted or pardoned later, but a lot of them also go to jail, or are removed from office in various ways.

That's one thing that amazed me about Webb's book on Iran-Contra, Dark Alliance. Aside from one drug dealer who turned informant, almost all of the main characters in that drug ring have gone to prison. "Freeway Rick" is still there, although he was just a dealer for the big boys -- one of whom Webb interviewed WHILE IN PRISON. These were all people who helped the Bush Administration with drug trafficking, but that didn't protect the Bush goons from jail forever. It's like I tell the narco-deniers who write me from Mena, Arkansas. You can claim that your airport was never a drug trafficking hub, but there's already too much evidence built up that it was. And I happen to believe the credible and overwhelming evidence despite the denials of a few people (many who sound like they're "under the influence," or from the same person with poor grammar). So we can believe DeLay, despite knowing his dirty politics, or we can believe the Grand Jury. DeLay may walk this time, but the current trend says that he's in trouble, and Rove/Cheney/Libby are next.

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