Mound City

The Stakeholder has a good rundown on the case against Tom DeLay in Texas. It seems that there are some pretty hard-and-fast laws in Texas when it comes to corporate contributions in state elections; they can't. DeLay's problems stem from the fact that he spent a good deal of time and effort to find ways around the law. The question on everyone's mind is will DeLay be indicted personally. The PAC that he founded got into trouble for laundering money through the RNC, there were several DeLay associates indicted in those cases. DeLay himself was involved in pressuring out-of-state companies to donate to campaigns one case in which he received an admonishment from the ethics committee.

This all leads up to the recent decision to change the Republican's own leadership rules so that DeLay can continue to serve even if he is indicted.

The whole mess is even further complicated by the fact that DeLay's cronies in Texas may attempt to go after the prosecutor investigating the situation, Ron Earl, through redistricting and other structural techniques.

When these guys play, they play for keeps.