Because House Majority Leader Tom DeLay may soon be under indictment for a fundraising scandal in Texas, the GOP has launched a two-prong strategy. One part included a House rules change that would allow DeLay to keep his post, even if indicted by a grand jury. The other part, predictably, is lashing out to smear the district attorney who’s responsible for the charges against DeLay in the first place.<\/p>\n
Republicans, true to form, haven’t held back. Ronnie Earle, the DA for Travis County, Tex., who happens to be a Dem, has not only been attacked as a blind partisan, he’s also been accused of recklessly abusing the grand jury process as part of a personal vendetta. Earle’s accusers have no proof, of course, but that’s never stopped them before.<\/p>\n
The anti-Earle campaign has manifested itself in a variety of ways. As Josh Marshall noted<\/a> recently, House GOP leaders are desperate to discredit him, with DeLay saying<\/a> Earle is “trying to criminalize politics,” Peter King (R-NY) calling him a “runaway prosecutor<\/a>,” and Henry Bonilla going to so far as to describe him as a “partisan crackpot<\/a> district attorney.” The Texas GOP is trying to have Earle stripped of his authority<\/a> as a DA and Fox News is playing by the Republicans’ playbook<\/a>. The whole thing is a classic, albeit disgusting, right-wing smear.<\/p>\n Needless to say, there is no substance to bolster the attacks. Earle is a widely respected DA with a solid reputation among his peers. In Texas, DAs are elected, not appointed, and Earle has consistently earned the public’s trust.<\/p>\n