Bloggers React to DeLay Indictment

There has been a veritable blogswarm over the DeLay indictment.

From the Left:

    Chris Bowers: “The Repulican Noise Machine is going to push the ‘partisan politics’ line on this one hard. I am already seeing people on CNN and MSNBC repeating this “partisan” crap.” Also several jibes about David Dreier being homosexual.

    Kevin Drum: ” If Democrats still can’t win in 2006, then we’ve got serious problems.”

    Sysiphus Shrugged titles his post “justice DeLayed.” The remainder of the post is less clever.

    Mustang Bobby: “Mr. DeLay claims he’s the victim of a political witchhunt. Oh, the irony.” Also some Dreier/gay stuff.

    Norbizness: “…David Dreier from California (an odious douchebag himself, but nowhere near DeLay’s concentrated evil) is taking over as Majority Leader. I guess we should get ready for the media circus and the elevation of Ronnie Earle*, Travis County District Attorney, to right-thinking America’s Public Enemy #1. Plus, Earle is easier to pronounce than Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.”

    Garance Franke-Ruta: “[I]t’s worth recalling that in the political world, being charged with criminal activity is about as devastating as being convicted of it, regardless of what the eventual outcome of these cases is.”

    Jo Fish: “Seems that sooner or later the blatant corruption and malfeasance of the GOoPers will catch up to them. Even Hammer-Boy is not immune to the criminal justice system. ”

    TChris: “In my experience, grand juries indict on what the prosecutors ask them to indict on. . . . My take: Don’t get your hopes up.”

    Julian Sanchez
    : “One Down, 434 to Go”

From the Right:

    Michelle Malkin: “[I]t ain’t good.”

    Ian Schwartz: “I’ve never been a huge fan of DeLay. He has been accused several times of abusing his power and misuse of federal agencies. However we shouldn’t pre-judge Rep. DeLay, this is just an indictment not a conviction.”

    Ankle Biting Pundits: “In politics, perception is reality, and even if DeLay is cleared eventually the media and the Democrats are going to have a field day. . . .Of course, if DeLay did break the law he should pay the price. ”

    Sean Hackbarth: “I wouldn’t mind DeLay riding into the sunset permanently. The GOP doesn’t need a stained leader who’s been admonished by the ethics committee.”

    Michael Demmons: “It’s about time.”

    Michael Demmons: ” House Gets Its First Gay Majority Leader”

    Steven Taylor: “Delay has seemed a bit overly in love with his own power and position and so I am not surprised that something happened that would allow for a indictment.”

Most of the above via Memeorandum. More as I come across them via the Blogroll.

As always, feel free to add your own via TrackBack.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. bithead says:

    Does anyone remember Newt Gingrich?
    He was eventually found innocent… two years, and a fine and a resignation later. The bastards never even apologized, nor did he get the fine money back.

    You don’t need facts to destroy soemone, and to upset the balance of political power. You just need to run plays like this.

    The Democrats are doing it yet again… and the sad part is a lot of Republcians are willing to help them.

  2. James Joyner says:

    Actually, Gingrich’s resignation was largely unrelated to the ethics issue. The House GOP barely retained its majority in the 1998 off-year elections despite all of Clinton’s problems. Gingrich was viewed as the primary catalyst.

  3. James Joyner says:

    See this BBC account.

  4. Fersboo says:

    Maybe the problems associated with the off-year elections had to do with the bogus attacks on Newt.

  5. skippy says:
  6. Don says:

    Gingrich essentially took the fall for the GOP’s poor showing in the 1998 midterm elections. He’d allowed the elections to become a referendum on Clinton’s impeachment and it backfired.

  7. Bithead says:

    Actually, Gingrich’s resignation was largely unrelated to the ethics issue. The House GOP barely retained its majority in the 1998 off-year elections despite all of Clinton’s problems. Gingrich was viewed as the primary catalyst.

    And that missed opportunity, I would argue, was due largely to the attacks on Newt over supposed ethics violations, which cost enough votes to make the difference.

    Like I said, they’ve done this before.

  8. if Tom Delay broke any laws regarding illegal corporate donations, and that is a big if, the Democrats do it all the time. Except that they are given a free pass by the MSM. We have a lot of serious issues to deal with such as Hurricane Damage, high energy prices, and the ongoing war against Terror, and the democrats are willing to cause political chaos and uncertainty by bringing unsubstantiated but damaging charges against perhaps the most powerful and effective Republican leader in Washington. It is time for the Republican leadership to hit back hard , no holds barred. If the Dems are willing to play hardball, demonic, partisan politics, then Republicans should parry and give back blow for blow.

  9. DL says:

    The character of the the conservative party, by nature is to be the Bully-bait for the Dems.

    They won’t hit back, they’ll just whine about it.
    Sorry, but my party of choice doesn’t have what it takes to survive this war without morals or ethics.

  10. dave says:

    If you actually read the indictment papers, you don’t really even know what delay is being charged with. Look at this prosecutors past and he’s done this before. It’s just another partisan hack job by the left. same as the forged memos, same as the sheehan circus, same as the charges of racism after katrina. It’s just another event for the left to screech about, and in a few months no one will even remember it since the dems will have something else entirely new to latch onto in an effort to destroy Bush.

    and by the way, there are already mentions of something to do with senator reid and some priests or something?? i didn’t read the whole story, but it’s just the same as when they tried to nail him with the travel issue, and it was revealed the dems do it all the time, and many many many specific cases were cited, they backed right off. Wait for the cases to be cited here and they will back right off.

    I’m just glad DeLay has been giving a barrage of media interviews to set the record straight. He’d have to be pretty stupid to come out this adamantly and say he has done nothing wrong if he actually has something to hide, and i don’t even think a democrat is that stupid. well, wait…. er…. clinton did it…. oops. i take that back, a democrat WAS stupid enough. but you get the point.