# DeLay indicted **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 28, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877 "2005-09-28T16:51:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/81 "2005-09-29T03:39:10Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > I watched Brit Hume and Chris Matthews (immediately after) and Chris reported it pretty much the same way. This does look like partisan Texas politics, and the guest that Chris interviewed mostly concurred. > > Anyone want to bet on a conviction? I’ll take all comers that he isn’t convicted. Why did they think this was just partisan retribution? As pointed out above, many a Dem. has been convicted by the same guy; and DeLay has been slapped, by members of his own party, no less, for ethics violations more than any other Congressman in history. He’s been flirting with blatant impropriety ever since I first heard of him, and given the company he keeps (ahem, Abramoff, ahem), it just doesn’t seem so cut-and-dry politics-as-usual to me. If anything, I’d say DeLay has no one to blame but himself for the trouble he’s in. He pushes the envelope, and pushes it hard, at almost every opportunity. That sort of behavior is bound to catch up with someone as visible as himself, no matter what party. Anyhoo, I’d be very interested in a brief synopsis of what they said, as I didn’t get to see that program, if you feel inclined. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/82 "2005-09-29T03:44:41Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > The Pubs are practically handing the reigns of power back to the Dems the way they’re mucking things up. The pendulum just might be swinging… If they continue to make foolish moves like this: [Blunt hired consultant who’s also indicted](http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/politics/12767080.htm) > [@](#): > > The political committee of Rep. Roy Blunt, who is temporarily replacing Rep. Tom DeLay as House majority leader, has paid roughly $88,000 in fees since 2003 to a consultant under indictment in Texas with DeLay, according to federal records. It won’t be too long til everyone knows that Republican Corruption Is Running Rampant In Washington. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/83 "2005-09-29T04:06:19Z")
I flipped on one of the news stations earlier today and stopped when I heard them say Delay had been invited, it must have been Fox because they only interviewed Republicans who all made a point of saying it was just partisan politics and a prosecuter could indict a ham sandwich if he wants but it doesn’t mean anything. So that will probably be their slogan “Tom Delay, no more guilty than a ham sandwich.” I always knew those ham sandwiches were up to no good. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/84 "2005-09-29T04:44:42Z")
Even if I didn’t know anything else about Delay, he deserves a Colombian necktie just for the whole Saipan business. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/85 "2005-09-29T05:34:11Z")
Please. Ronnie “My Name Is” Earle is a rabidly partisan Democrat Party hack. He tried the same stunt against Kay Bailey Hutchison and failed miserably. By the way, according to the Associated Press, Earle once filed charges _against himself_ for missing the campaign finance reporting deadline by a day! [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/09/28/national/w162214D25.DTL](http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/09/28/national/w162214D25.DTL) I didn’t even know you could do that. Also, I love his rationale: _Earle has pointed out that he’s investigated **four times more Democrats than Republicans** , including some friends._ I’m sure the DNC loves being reminded of that, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/86 "2005-09-29T05:45:32Z")
Ah…here’s **Stephe** with the Republican talking points fresh out of the fax machine. A grand jury indicted Delay, not Earle. And if calling Earle a Democrat is the best you can do, I have to say that’s rather feeble. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/87 "2005-09-29T05:52:27Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Ah…here’s **Stephe** with the Republican talking points fresh out of the fax machine. > > A grand jury indicted Delay, not Earle. And if calling Earle a Democrat is the best you can do, I have to say that’s rather feeble. Well, good luck storming the castle and all that. But let’s just remember that this _is_ Travis County, home of Bill Burkett and the National Guard forgeries. Remember how excited you guys were about that story for the first five minutes or so? That little stunt kinda backfired and cost a few CBS producers their jobs, didn’t it? And it resulted in the eternally clueless Dan Rather being quietly eased out to pasture. Finally, why did Earle only go for the conspiracy charge? I’m no lawyer but don’t DAs usually go after the actual charges of criminal wrongdoing and _add on_ the conspiracy charges after the fact? Earle is charging Delay with conspiracy…but what else? I think conspiracy alone would be very difficult to prove without other, more substantial charges. Maybe a lawyer could chime in here… ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/88 "2005-09-29T05:55:41Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Well, good luck storming the castle and all that. But let’s just remember that this _is_ Travis County, home of Bill Burkett and the National Guard forgeries. Remember how excited you guys were about that story for the first five minutes or so? That little stunt kinda backfired and cost a few CBS producers their jobs, didn’t it? And it resulted in the eternally clueless Dan Rather being quietly eased out to pasture. Yeah, and…? Robin P.S.: Anyone want to start a pool on whether/when Bush pardons his “ally”? ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/89 "2005-09-29T06:04:33Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > Yeah, and…? > > Robin > > P.S.: Anyone want to start a pool on whether/when Bush pardons his “ally”? What I mean is that if Earle fails to get this conviction and/or this turns out to be a politically-motivated sham indictment, then this little stunt could backfire on Ronnie-boy, as well. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/90 "2005-09-29T07:03:18Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > Why did they think this was just partisan retribution? As pointed out above, many a Dem. has been convicted by the same guy; and DeLay has been slapped, by members of his own party, no less, for ethics violations more than any other Congressman in history. He’s been flirting with blatant impropriety ever since I first heard of him, and given the company he keeps (ahem, Abramoff, ahem), it just doesn’t seem so cut-and-dry politics-as-usual to me. If anything, I’d say DeLay has no one to blame but himself for the trouble he’s in. He pushes the envelope, and pushes it hard, at almost every opportunity. That sort of behavior is bound to catch up with someone as visible as himself, no matter what party. > > Anyhoo, I’d be very interested in a brief synopsis of what they said, as I didn’t get to see that program, if you feel inclined. Thanks! Set your TiVo, DVR, or VCR for MEET THE PRESS on Sunday. I’m sure this will be topic _numero uno_. The guy that CM had on from a Texas newspaper noted that the indictments of Dems were mostly of conservative Democrats. DeLay may indeed have “walked up to the ethical line” a number of times, but this particular instance just doesn’t pass the snif test. But what it does do is pin the “indicted” label on Delay until his trial sometime next year-- an election year to boot. I agree that he had this coming. Politics is dirty business, and the Republicans played the same game for many years. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/91 "2005-09-29T11:21:49Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > What I mean is that if Earle fails to get this conviction and/or this turns out to be a politically-motivated sham indictment, then this little stunt could backfire on Ronnie-boy, as well. And what does that have to do with Dan Rather and Bill Burkett? Aside from the fact that both are coming out of Travis County, Texas? This is like linking the Manson murders with a parking ticket my boss once got because they both happened in Bel Air. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/92 "2005-09-29T11:57:26Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Well, good luck storming the castle and all that. But let’s just remember that this _is_ Travis County, home of Bill Burkett and the National Guard forgeries. Not only are you a pointless raving partisan cunt, but you are a stupid pointless raving partisan cunt. Burkett lives in Callahan County. ---
**Author:** ![Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chance_the_Gardener)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/93 "2005-09-29T13:12:18Z")
DeLay’s indicted? I’m delighted! I’ve leapt up to the firmament! We’re now facing brief replacing of the Hammer with a Blunt instrument! ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/94 "2005-09-29T13:33:14Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > Not only are you a pointless raving partisan cunt, but you are a stupid pointless raving partisan cunt. do ya think he’ll use this phrase on his resume? “2003 to Present - Stupid pointless raving partisan cunt. In this position, I posted prolifically on message boards, parroting the party line. During this challenging time, I stayed on point, never bothering with actual facts or data. I would sidestep and shift, ignoring salient points by the opposition. Many have remarked upon my unique ability to resist logical thought processes.” ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/95 "2005-09-29T13:49:04Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Set your TiVo, DVR, or VCR for MEET THE PRESS on Sunday. I’m sure this will be topic _numero uno_… Much obliged! ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/96 "2005-09-29T13:52:39Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > And what does that have to do with Dan Rather and Bill Burkett? Aside from the fact that both are coming out of Travis County, Texas? > > Robin Dan Rather’s daughter held fundraisers for Ronnie Earle, Dan attended some. Other attendees were Ben Barnes. Burkett’s lawyer was David Van Os, former chairman of the Travis County Democratic Party. Now none of this supports any conspiracies, and I’m not speculating that any exist, just answering how some of these people had some interactions. Link to [http://www.ronnieearle.com/calendar.html](http://www.ronnieearle.com/calendar.html)] Fundraiser Calendar. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/97 "2005-09-29T13:53:57Z")
Well, that link worked really well. [http://www.ronnieearle.com/calendar.html](http://www.ronnieearle.com/calendar.html) ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/98 "2005-09-29T13:55:53Z")
> [@wring](#): > > do ya think he’ll use this phrase on his resume? > > “2003 to Present - Stupid pointless raving partisan cunt. In this position, I posted prolifically on message boards, parroting the party line. During this challenging time, I stayed on point, never bothering with actual facts or data. I would sidestep and shift, ignoring salient points by the opposition. Many have remarked upon my unique ability to resist logical thought processes.” Well, it **would** probably look good if he were applying for a position with the Heritage Foundation or the RNC. By the way, if it matters, here are cites for the complete non-connection between Burkett and Travis County - [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24635-2004Sep15.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24635-2004Sep15.html) > [@](#): > > There is only one Kinko’s in Abilene, and it is 21 miles from the Baird, Tex., home of retired Texas National Guard officer Bill Burkett, who has been named by several news outlets as a possible source for the documents. [http://www.bairdtexas.com/Community\_Profile.htm](http://www.bairdtexas.com/Community_Profile.htm) Of course, if **Stephe** wanted to try to hang his hat on the “home of […] the National Guard forgeries” portion of his claim, the Kinko’s in the story is in Taylor County. Although Taylor does start with a T, just like Travis. Perhaps that is as far as **Stephe** got before he got his woody. [http://www.abilenetx.com/About/index.htm](http://www.abilenetx.com/About/index.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/99 "2005-09-29T14:05:28Z")
> [@Duke of Rat](#): > > Dan Rather’s daughter held fundraisers for Ronnie Earle, Dan attended some. Other attendees were Ben Barnes. Burkett’s lawyer was David Van Os, former chairman of the Travis County Democratic Party. > > Now none of this supports any conspiracies, and I’m not speculating that any exist, just answering how some of these people had some interactions. > > Link to [http://www.ronnieearle.com/calendar.html](http://www.ronnieearle.com/calendar.html)] Fundraiser Calendar. No, no, no. I think you’ve uncovered something shocking - there are active Democrats in the state capital of Texas! Holy shit! And they have fundraisers! And they are attended by members of the Democratic party! In the capital of Texas! ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877/100 "2005-09-29T14:18:13Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > Perhaps that is as far as **Stephe** got before he got his woody. now whydidya hafta post that? huh? that was a mental image that I did **not** need to have. ::_wanders off to go scrub brain_:: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-indicted/323877.md?page=6)