Ok, it may not be perfectly correct, but I had to work in a Star Trek quote somewhere. And this evokes “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander” to me.

Well, our good buddy Ronnie Earle, up in Austin, may have just shot himself in the foot big time. First he gets a pair of hightly touted (by the MSM) indictments, that not only could not stand the blinding glare of public scrutiny, they couldn’t stand a flicking candle of indifference at midnight. Indictments so vague that they are not charges, they’re statements of, “trust us, we’re going to bring charges!” So then Ronnie decides to up the ante and gives the “evidence” such as it is, to a second jury. Which promptly hands them back and says “see us when you have something.” Never one to accept a setback, he runs over to a jury so new it’s still in diapers, and bamboozles them into approving the charges. But unless you’re dense or had your attention elsewhere, you already knew this. So what’s up now?

Ronnie’s living in a glass house. Thanks to the Captain (and Mr. DeLay’s sensible research), Earle’s own illegal campaign contributions have come to light. And get this…. he made no attempt to hide them; they’re right there on his campaign contribution forms!

From the Captain:

A review of Mr. Earle’s campaign-finance filings in Texas shows that he has received contributions from the AFL-CIO, including a $250 donation on Aug. 29, 2000. He also has received contributions listed on the disclosure forms only as coming from the name of an incorporated entity, often a law firm.

Mr. Earle has said repeatedly that state law bars corporate and union contributions.

Now I’m not leaping to the defense of De Lay, or rejoicing that he’s going to bitch-slap that jackass, Earle. Well, ok, I’m not leaping to the defense of De Lay. I don’t like De Lay at all. He’s an old-style LBJ Texan politician, and I have no love for that breed. He interfered to no end in Houston’s light rail system, even getting a rider prohibiting Metro from spending money on it for a couple of years. Why? So he could prevent it from being extended to his district! Which leaves all of southwest Houston dependant on gas guzzlers. (Great job, asshole.) I don’t think he had any business getting involved, and he’s too “Respect mah author-i-tye” -ish to me. But I’m frankly reveling in Earle proving he’s the partisan hack that his detractors have stated. Incompetant, and wasteful of the public’s trust in him to prosecute, you know, criminals. Face it, Austin is the Berkeley of Texas, and the whole area is just full of moonbats who voted this jerk into office. You really do get the government you deserve….

Now further down in the comments at CQ, a Decieved One (my name for a lefty able to form logical and coherent arguments) points out that the contributions aren’t illegal, it’s what type of expenses Earle funneled them to. Only “administrative” expenses can be covered by such donations. So what is such an expense? Well, it’s pretty damn much whatever you want to call administrative! All this law does is provide for a bunch of absurd technical requirements that require a horde of accountants and lawyers to keep track of. And the bigger your race, the harder it is to keep track of it all. In fact, the campaign finance reporting requirements, restrictions, and regulations have become so complex, it requires full-time professional specialists and months of preparation/training to field a staff that’s not going to screw up and accidently pay for staples with money from the wrong fund!

Ya think that’s an accident? Hell no, it’s not! The game of politics in this country has been rigged to keep it closed to a professional elite that self-selects its candidates in old-fashioned “smoke-filled rooms.” And if some upstart comes along — especially a reformer upstart — the old pros can get to work undermining the outsider by using the mechanism of government to tarnish or trip him/her up.

That’s your so-called “campaign reform” in a nutshell. And you wonder why I don’t like McCain-Feingold? Aside from the fact that it should never have been declared constitutional, it isn’t a reform measure, it’s a hurdle. The FEC came close to using it to muzzle the internet–and we were lucky that the chairman was someone who was willing to take the heat to stir the waters, scare the hell out of everyone, and make sure the pressure was on to keep Washington’s hands off the net.

So it doesn’t matter whether you are on the left or the right. Whether you support Earle or DeLay (or neither). The laws being used here weren’t intended to catch criminal politicians. They were meant to catch you. They were meant to make damn sure you’d never get it into your head to decide to do something about your political dissatisfaction personally. They were meant to keep you out of politics, to keep you from saying one day, “That is ENOUGH. If I can’t find the candidate I want, I’ll be the candidate I want! ” Whether it’s for city council or President.

So go right on ahead, cheer for your chosen side in this battle. You’re just cheering your own political emasculation.

Me? Thought I was clear on that. I’m not cheering for DeLay? I’m cheering against Ronnie.

(This document has been edited with substantial additions to clarify and expend the original points).