Professor Bainbridge continues to do a good job of criticizing the Republican Party for its rather shameless lack of leadership in its indulgence of House Minority Leader Tom DeLay that was the subject of this earlier post.
What is most curious about the GOP’s witch hunt allegations regarding Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle — whose office is prosecuting three former DeLay aides — is that Mr. Earle is a well-regarded prosecutor in the legal community who has traditionally been quite even-handed. In fact, 12 of 15 elected officials who Mr. Earle has prosecuted over the years have been fellow Democrats, including former Attorney General Jim Mattox, former Speaker Gib Lewis, former Treasurer Warren G. Harding and former Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock.
As an aside, a funny anecdote arose after Mr. Earle’s unsuccessful prosecution of the late Mr. Bullock, who became a somewhat beloved figure in his declining years and a confidant of GOP Governor George W. Bush. After Mr. Bullock’s death, Mr. Earle — who clearly enjoyed the colorful former Lieutenant Governor — disclosed that Mr. Bullock had subsequently confided to him that he was “guilty as hell.”