Stupid is as Stupid Does

As a follow up to a previous article from Oct 4, 2005, a new article that appeared in the Washington Post reveals that Ronnie Earl, District Attorney from Texas, has more guts and gumption than common sense.

DeLay Lawyers: D.A. Tried to Coerce Jurors
By SUZANNE GAMBOA
The Associated Press
Saturday, October 8, 2005; 7:30 PM

The story claims that Earl not only went to a third grand jury when the second grand jury refused to indict Tom Delay after the first indictment had to be dropped because there was no legal basis, but he intimidated the third grand jury into making their decision. As in all journalistic reporting of court cases, it is impossible to determine who really did what. This is why we have our day in court rather than our day in the media.

But the evidence released so far continues to indicate that Mr. Earl is either trying to make a flimsy charge stick or he is totally inept as a prosecuter.

Not Loud Enough or The Wrong Message?

Two articles appearing today from Democratic sources, substantiate an idea that has been festering with me since the Election of ’04. In the first,

Carville: Dems need stronger narrative to win
By Elizabeth Gibson
October 07, 2005

James Carville, a political humorist, in a speech to Democratic students at Northwestern University, explained

…that Democratic candidates can’t succeed by shouting out to every group in a crowd. Instead candidates should tell stories with the three elements of any good story — setup, conflict and resolution.

“No Kumbayah crap,” Carville said.

Another article from the Washington Post,

Report Warns Democrats Not to Tilt Too Far Left
By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 7, 2005; A07

quotes two former Clinton advisors, William A. Galston and Elaine C. Kamarck. They complained that the Democrats must change their philosophies to run more down the center of the political spectrum rather than relying on either leftist-liberals or trying to capture the swing voters.

...Galston and Kamarck, both of whom served in the Clinton White House, said there are simply not enough left-leaning voters to make this a workable strategy. In one of their more potentially controversial findings, the authors argue that the rising numbers and influence of well-educated, socially liberal voters in the Democratic Party are pulling the party further from most Americans.

Howard Dean, when elected as the Democratic Party Chairman this past summer, declared that the reason the Republicans defeated the Democrats in 04 was that the Republicans had a better defined message and a more succinct way of expressing it. If the Demos wanted to win in the future, they would need to better articulate their stance so the American People could embrace it.

The problem with the Democratic platform has nothing to do with clarity, definition or volume, it has everything to do with substance and character.

When my grandfather was a Democrat, it was the party of the working man with a goal of "a chicken in every pot." The leaders believed in God, resisting communism and protecting America. We had just spent six long years of World War II defending these principles.

Today, the party has been over-run by leftists, extremists and special interests that are not only of little concern to the majority of Americans, but quite scary. Everyone finds comfort in those who look, act and believe as they do. When the fringe of the nation demands that religious middle-class heterosexuals greet with a kiss hedonist yuppie homosexuals and that lower income blacks should be embraced by upper income white executives, all the parties involved have just a little trepidation.

The relocation of the poorer black families from Hurricane Katrina highlighted some of this attitude as the refugees expressed concern about living in other “cultures” and most have chosen to return to their “home” as soon as possible.

Demos have tried too hard to make a collalition of all the fringe groups and in so doing, have alienated the core electorate of the nation. Whether we like smaller or larger government, involvement in international affairs or prefer isolationism, most people want security in their homes, their jobs and in their community. The electrate has learned that policies change, storms arise and the world moves on. Because of this, they will always lean toward leaders they feel have character, integrity and the charisma to lead in a crisis regardless of the party.

This is what the Democrats need to learn to internalize in order to win. If they could do that, I would likely vote along with them since they would have become a viable alternative.

Maybe The Stink Will Stick

There is nothing quite as exciting as watching history in the making.

Texan Ronnie Earl, the Travis County District Attorney, jumped again into the national spotlight and secured a place in legal history when he dropped the charges against Tom Delay because the law Delay was indicted with breaking was not created until a year after the alleged conspiracy took place. Because of this blooper, he asked the Court to drop the previous count and issued new charges of conspiring to launder money and money laundering. Of course, this new action begs the question; did anyone research this charge to see if there was actually a law in place in the State of Texas that was violated?

That sounds harsh, but in light of Dan Rather’s career curtailing calamity and the equally notorious and far from factual reporting on the mayhem of Hurricane Katrina that slung mud on the federal government, (aka, the Bush Administration); one wonders if the Democratic mind has the capacity for rational thought. Now, I realize that there are a great many good Democrats on the grass roots level that have the ability to think and act intelligently. I know that they don’t resemble the national figures any more than I remind you of Hillary Clinton or Ted Kennedy. But I ask you; what is going on?

Is the left so emotionally charged and angry at the present situation that they are blinded to legal procedures and scientific discovery? I remember the consternation I felt during the Clinton years. I not only disagreed with the polling for politics style of leadership and abhorred Slick Willy, the great compromiser, but I had a personal distain stemming from damage he had inflicted on those I loved and cared about. Regardless of my revulsion, I watched the impeachment proceedings and cringed when emotion tended to move the trial out of the rule of law and into a personal attack.

But I realized that nothing lasts for ever. I didn’t vow to move to Canada or kill myself if change was not immediate. I knew that real leaders would emerge to fill the vacuum.

In the case of Tom Delay, it appears that Mr. Earl is repeating a previous blunder, (Conspiracy Theorist Indicts DeLay,) from 1993 when he tried to indicted

“Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison with allegedly misusing staff and equipment in her state treasury office for political purposes.”

He realized just before the jury was selected that he didn’t have the evidence needed for a conviction and asked that the charges be dropped.

"When the case finally went to trial in February 1994, Earle, lacking the evidence to prove his charges against Hutchison, asked the judge to dismiss them before a jury could be sworn in. That would have allowed Earle to go after Hutchison again, at a later time, with the same charges. Because of the prohibition against double jeopardy, however, dropping the case after a jury was seated meant Earle would never be able to harass Hutchison with the charges again.

Judge John F. Onion, Jr., spurned Earle’s request and swore in a jury. Earle then refused to present any case. Onion ordered the jurors to acquit Hutchison, which they promptly did."

Charge them and drop them appears to be the Travis County motto. If you can’t convict, maybe the stink will stick.