Hell (finally) freezes over

I'd be remiss, I suppose, if I let the day go by without chiming in on The Hammer's indictment. Of course my gut reaction is (how shall I put this in a dignified manner?), "F#%kin' A, bubba!" Mr. DeLay has been a brutal, swaggering, dangerous influence on the direction of this country for far too long, and is well known for pushing the boundaries of "ethical" behavior to the limit and beyond. And let's face it - one look at his expression and demeanor during today's press conference was enough to confirm that whatever the charge, he did it!

At the same time, however, I do want to know more about Austin DA Ronnie Earle before jumping into the jacuzzi with a bottle of Cristal and the divorcée down the street. The outcome of this seemingly joyous event hinges by and large on how well the Texas prosecutor's reputation withstands the inevitable GOP smear campaign to come. I've found a lot on the web, both favorable and dismissive, most of which boils down to the " 'Did NOT.' 'Did SO.' " rhetoric of Sunday morning talk shows.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't really care what motivates Mr. Earle, because Tom-boy is definitely someone who deserves severe scrutiny. Even if the Austin DA's action today is fueled purely by a desire to push Republicans like Mr. DeLay out of office, I can only say, "Hey - why not?" After all, that's the same partisan mantra that has shaped Conservative policy since 1994. What's good for the goose...

It's just that, because we know The Hammer's best public defense is already shaping up as a typically huge, loud, self-righteous series of ad hominem attacks on Mr. Earle's character, I want to know for sure that this champion of our cause is above reproach. I tend to believe that Ronnie's our guy - precisely because of Mr. Delay's verbal assault - but if you have additional, objective analysis of the man, please pass it on.

'Til then, I think I'll wait a little while to dance naked around the bonfire. It'll be harder than we think to finally nail Teflon Tom for good - and I'm crossing my fingers that Mr. Earle is the right man for the job.