So we have McCain today getting his crowd riled up asking who Barack Obama is and then apparently giving a wink and a nod when one member of the crowd screams out “terrorist.”

And later we have Sarah Palin with the same mob racket, getting members of the crowd to yell out “kill him”, though it’s not clear whether the call for murder was for Bill Ayers or Barack Obama. It didn’t seem to matter.

These are dangerous and sick people, McCain and Palin. Whatever it takes. Stop at nothing.

I’m not smart enough to know the answer to this series of questions:
— If a vice-presidential candidate incites a mob to chant “kill him”, and it’s not clear to anyone whether she and they mean Barack Obama or Bill Ayers, then is the Secret Service detail charged with protecting Obama’s life duty-bound to take in said vice-presidential candidate for questioning?
— If so, and if she tries to fob them off with a wink and a sashay, or if she answers all questions with a blizzard of gobbledygook, or if she pulls a high-and-mighty and refuses to answer questions, are they duty bound to arrest her?
— Or at least tap her phone?

There are simply no words for the depths that John McCain and Sarah Palin have already sunk to. And we still have four weeks to go. The mind reels.

How could they possibly sink any lower? And yet anyone with a pulse and half a brain knows that the one given is that they bloody well will.

These people who are working for McCain’s campaign, and these people who in all innocence volunteered to help elect the Republican candidate for president, surely they didn’t bargain for these unspeakable abominations, this sheer despicable madness? Surely it occurs to them at some level: “How are we going to be able to live with ourselves if we don’t get out even now?”

McCain is not the only one who’s going to have to confront, in November, the painful ugly question of whether losing his soul and his honor was worth it.

So how come McCain’s campaign staff and volunteers are not bailing out in droves?

Does nobody associated with the McCain campaign have higher ethical/moral standards than McCain? Or let me rephrase that: how come everybody associated with the McCain campaign doesn’t have higher ethical/moral standards than John McCain?

DeLay says that when, in the coming years, he is not fighting the indictment in Texas (he insists that he is not guilty) he will be building a conservative grass-roots equivalent of MoveOn.org. “God has spoken to me,” he said. “I listen to God, and what I’ve heard is that I’m supposed to devote myself to rebuilding the conservative base of the Republican Party, and I think we shouldn’t be underestimated.”

Let’s not question whether God said this to DeLay. Or even why He would. God, as we all know — or should, anyway — works in mysterious ways.

So let’s only separate the God grain from the DeLay chaff. God said that DeLay should devote himself “to rebuilding the conservative base of the Republican Party”. And so that’s that. That’s what DeLay should do. And if it turns out DeLay needs to be doing it from prison, no doubt God will guide him at the proper time as how how he should go about it.

But clearly God didn’t say they shouldn’t be underestimated. DeLay is sneaking that in on his own. It’s an “I think”, not an “I listen to God, and what I’ve heard is”.

Now think about that for a moment. Whether or not they should be underestimated is clearly a serious issue. If God wanted us not to underestimate them, He would surely have told DeLay, and told him to tell us too. But He didn’t. That, dearly beloved readers, is surely a sign from God?

So all ye who believe in God, heed now His revealed intent. As DeLay devotes himself to rebuilding the conservative base of the Republican Party, underestimate them. Underestimate them early. Underestimate them often. Underestimate them devoutly. Underestimate them till it hurts. And then, underestimate them a little more.

Because you’re probably going to be answering to God, if you don’t. And you don’t want to underestimate God, I don’t think.

Prosecutors have e-mails showing Rep. Tom DeLay‘s office knew lobbyist Jack Abramoff had arranged the financing for the GOP leader’s controversial European golfing trip in 2000 and was concerned “if someone starts asking questions.”

House ethics rules bar lawmakers from accepting free trips from lobbyists. DeLay, R-Texas, reported to Congress that a Republican advocacy group had paid for the spring 2000 trip that DeLay, his wife and top aides took to Scotland and England.

The e-mails obtained by The Associated Press show DeLay’s staff asked Abramoff – not the advocacy group – (for the cost figures) that had to be legally disclosed on congressional travel forms. DeLay’s office was worried the group being cited as paying the costs might not even know about them, the e-mails state.
[…]
DeLay has steadfastly maintained he believed that the center paid for the trip as he reported.

Yes, it sure looks like a gun, and there’s certainly smoke coming out of it, but if DeLay has taught us one thing about his legal problems, it’s this—the smoking gun only proves that he’s still being persecuted by his political enemies.

Who knew that DeLay’s political enemies had managed to plant people in deep cover within his own staff? These persecutors perniciously proliferate precisely where you wouldn’t expect them.

At one level, DeLay’s catch-all persecution-by-political-enemies argument may well be absolutely true. When all the dust has settled, and DeLay has moved beyond indictment to conviction (because justice cannot be denied, remember?), it will turn out that he himself was his own worst political enemy.

Taking it as a given that DeLay was absolutely corrupt to start with, even before he ascended to absolute power, what did absolute power do to him? Seems to have afflicted him with blinding hubris – that’s the kind that ultimately led Oedipus to gouge out his own eyes – to the point where he just knew he could never be brought to justice. He didn’t even bother to destroy the evidence. Now that’s just the sloppiest kind of hubris, in my book.

The latest revelations about DeLay’s famous $70,000 family-and-friends golfing trip to Scotland and England in spring 2000 contain an unexpected bonus. They reveal Susan Ralston – who then worked for Jack Abramoff and who is now Special Assistant to the President and Assistant to Karl Rove – enthusiastically aiding and abetting DeLay and his staff in the filing of false financial disclosure forms to Congress about the trip.

After DeLay’s staff asked Abramoff’s office for information about the cost of the trip:

“We should give them the most minimal numbers for cost of the hotel (do not include golf), food and plays,” Abramoff wrote two assistants at his Preston Gates lobbying firm in an e-mail from June 29, 2000. One of those assistants, Susan Ralston, now works for top White House adviser Karl Rove.

In a follow-up e-mail to Abramoff, Ralston reported she talked to DeLay’s then-deputy chief of staff, Tony Rudy, who suggested numbers that could be used as cost figures on the congressional travel report. Rudy had gone on the trip with his boss.

“Tony said: $6,800 for flights per person. $300 per night for hotel, $120 per day per person for meals, $500 per day for transportation,” Ralston wrote Abramoff. Abramoff’s credit card bill shows some costs were higher.

Impressive how quickly that went from DeLay’s staff saying “tell us what the cost was” to DeLay’s staff saying “why don’t we tell you what the cost was”. But let’s refuse to get distracted from the main point. Which is Ralston participating in the fabrication of fictitious figures for the cost of the trip.

Then there’s:

Ralston wrote she had a follow-up conversation with DeLay’s office. Hirschmann (DeLay’s chief of staff at the time) wanted “a name” of someone at the GOP group who would attest to paying for the trip and was concerned whether the center’s executive director, Amy Ridenour, knew about the costs.

“She (Hirschmann) just wants to make sure that if someone starts asking questions that Amy Ridenour knows about these s (sic),” Ralston wrote.

This time around Ralston has documented for ethics violations ombudsmen that she was knew the trip was not in fact paid for by the GOP lobbying group which was put up as a front.

If I were a lawyer, I would know whether Ralston’s actions constitute an indictable offense, and if so, whether it’s a felony or a misdemeanor. But you don’t have to be a lawyer to know that her actions are unethical (you just have to be outside the Bush administration). To use the mildest phrase I can summon up under the circumstances, it’s troubling and problematic behavior for someone who is a Special Assistant to the President. So troubling that it’s hard to see how she can keep her job under the circumstances.

Wonder whether the White House will see it that way, though. Especially since:

Ralston is cited as being the highest ranking Filipino-American in the Bush White House. The Philippine News Online reported September 22, 2004, that “Ralston, who was promoted special assistant to the president last July, is also actively involved in courting the Asian American vote.”

Remember when Tom DeLay moved for a new judge because he didn’t like the one assigned to his case?

The defense…asked Judge Bob Perkins to step aside and for the trial to be moved out of Travis County. Perkins has donated to causes and people opposed to DeLay, and his impartiality might be questioned, the motion said.

Well, actions have consequences. Dire consequences:

An attorney for Jessica Simpson is seeking to move her divorce proceedings against estranged husband Nick Lachey to a different judge, according to court papers obtained Thursday.

Lance Spiegel states in the papers that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael P. Linfield, who was assigned the case, “is prejudiced against petitioner and/or petitioner’s attorney or the interest of petitioner.” Spiegel contends Simpson “cannot have a fair and impartial trial or hearing before Judge Linfield.”

If she doesn’t get her majority leader position back, we could all be in for a lot of trouble. Like the last time she went to the White House…

As Tom Delay became a king of campaign fundraising, he lived like one too. He visited cliff-top Caribbean resorts, golf courses designed by PGA champions and four-star restaurants — all courtesy of donors who bankrolled his political money empire

Over the past six years, the former House majority leader and his associates have visited places of luxury most Americans have never seen, often getting there aboard corporate jets arranged by lobbyists and other special interests.

Public documents reviewed by The Associated Press tell the story: at least 48 visits to golf clubs and resorts; 100 flights aboard company planes; 200 stays at hotels, many world-class; and 500 meals at restaurants, some averaging nearly $200 for a dinner for two.

Instead of his personal expense, the meals and trips for DeLay and his associates were paid with donations collected by the campaign committees, political action committees and children’s charity the Texas Republican created during his rise to the top of Congress. His lawyer says the expenses are part of DeLay’s effort to raise money from Republicans and to spread the GOP message.

AP‘s review found DeLay’s various organizations spent at least $1 million over the last six years on hotels, restaurants, golf resorts and corporate jet flights for their boss and his associates.

Apparently, it is perfectly legal “to spend (political donations) in luxury if the stated purpose is raising more money or talking politics.” May not be ethical, but it’s perfectly legal. But can it really be legal to use donations made to a children’s charity to pay for political fundraising?

Were the donations tax-deductible? If so, doesn’t siphoning off funds from the charity to use for political fundraising constitute tax fraud (among other things)?

Do we have another round of indictments to look forward to?

President Bush said yesterday he is confident that former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) is innocent of money-laundering charges, as he offered strong support for several top Republicans who have been battered by investigations or by rumors of fading clout inside the White House.

In an interview with Fox News, Bush said he hopes DeLay will be cleared of charges that he illegally steered corporate money into campaigns for the Texas legislature and will reclaim his powerful leadership position in Congress.

“I hope that he will, ’cause I like him, and plus, when he’s over there, we get our votes through the House,” Bush told Fox News’s Brit Hume. DeLay was forced to step down as majority leader after he was indicted in the fundraising case, and he is seeking a quick trial in hopes of returning to power early next year.

Oh wait, wasn’t the president famously zipper-lipped whenever the subject of Valerie Plame came up? Wasn’t the standard response to any question about Scooter Libby or Karl Rove something along the lines of “we cannot comment on an continuing investigation or legal case”? So much for lofty ideals.

No matter what you personally think about the President, he is still the most important and influential person in the country, if not the world. Considering the pull that he has in his home state of Texas, pushing a narrative of DeLay’s innocence weeks (if not months) before a trial is not just inconsistent; it’s sleazy and borderline manipulative.

If DeLay does wind up getting convicted, Bush may wish that he never gave this interview. But in any case, he should leave the crystal ball and tarot cards back at the ranch.

But even though some back-benchers have begun to position themselves for a grab at the brass ring, the House leadership knows how valuable DeLay is when it comes to pushing through votes or raising money. And they are doing all they can to keep DeLay’s hopes of returning as Majority Leader alive:

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and his top lieutenants are seeking to avoid a divisive intra-party leadership fight. They engineered a scenario whereby the majority leader’s position is being filled on a temporary basis through at least the end of the year by the number-three House Republican, majority whip Roy Blunt of Missouri, with other members of leadership taking on increased responsibilities.

In addition, Hastert has scheduled the first House session of 2006 for Jan. 31 — after a holiday break of more than a month, and two weeks after senators are due to return to Washington. The late start gives DeLay, a Texas Republican, a greater amount of time with which to dispose of the charges, as new leadership elections could not occur until the House is back in session.

Generally, the House reconvenes fairly soon after the new year. But this time around, Hastert is willing to put the nation’s business on hold for weeks, just to accommodate DeLay—and that’s assuming he is found innocent, or that his trial will even begin before January 31. Talk about a Congressional perk—Tom DeLay is so important that the schedule of the entire 435-member House of Representatives revolves around him. The other 434 representatives get personalized stationary and free flag lapel pins. Or something.

At least they all get a nice long vacation, which just peachy in this era of war, budget deficits, immigration reform, Gulf Coast reconstruction and the like. Hell, why not make it February 31? Or March? As long as DeLay’s interests are put first, everything else will fall into place nicely.

(link via ThinkProgress)

So this is DeLay’s sales pitch, and it’s about as subtle as the guy telling you that the ’93 Pontiac was owned by a little old lady who only drove it to church on Sundays. Behind the smile, however, DeLay is pushing about as hard as he can to frame his case as nothing less than a vicious partisan attack on conservatism itself, with himself as the Christ figure being nailed to the boards:

Rep. Tom DeLay, under indictment on campaign finance violations, railed against Democrats in a letter Thursday, accusing them of engaging in “the politics of personal destruction.”

The letter, sent to constituents and contributors, connected his case with investigations into possible misconduct by White House adviser Karl Rove and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

“What we’re fighting is so much larger than a single court case or a single district attorney in Travis County,” the Texas Republican wrote. “We are witnessing the criminalization of conservative politics.”

Nice. If this letter had been held back a day, I’m sure DeLay could have somehow tied the Miers withdrawal into the pattern of destructive politics perpetuated by meanie Democrats. But think about it—Democrats control no branches of the government. They can’t call congressional hearings. As a group, they don’t have much power or leverage to work with. Back when Bill Clinton was President, the Republicans seemed to call for a Congressional investigation every time he ripped one and blamed it on the dog. Since George Bush has has taken up shop in the Oval Office, he’s been pretty much insulated from this sort of thing. If Democrats had the power to really stir the pot, wouldn’t there have been more movement on questioning the run-up to war directly, instead of blindly hoping that something comes out of the Fitzgerald investigation? There are dozens of questionable decisions and policies that the Dems could be making waves about if they had an outlet to do so, but the most they have been able to provide is the occasional soundbite rebuttal or chanting “shame” on the House floor.

Stripped of any significant ability to actually fight the Republicans in this administration and Congress, Democrats have to rely on the findings of Patrick Fitzgerald (who has been widely reported as apolitical), the SEC (a haven of liberalism, I’m sure) and Ronnie Earle (a Democrat, but one who has prosecuted high-level officials in both parties) just to dip a cautionary foot in the ring. Hardly a shadowy conspiracy, even though that sounds much more impressive. It’s not hard to understand DeLay’s motivation, though; he’s probably seen an episode or two of Oz and prison is looking a bit scary…

Rep. Tom DeLay will likely be booked in a Texas county jail this week despite attempts by his attorneys to bypass the fingerprinting and mug shot process.

While that’s enough to start a countdown, this quote pushes it over the top:

DeLay’s arraignment is set for Friday before state district Judge Bob Perkins in Travis County, Texas.
“Perkins believes that if God was charged with a felony, he would have to go through the booking process, too,” said D’Ann Underwood, court coordinator for the judge.

Ms. Underwood has quite the sense of humor. Anyone who think DeLay’s above a bit of the old “Don’t you know who I am,” hasn’t been paying attention.