Editorial: The grand illusion

Thursday, Sept. 29, 2005 | 9:22 a.m.

On Wednesday a Texas grand jury indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, on a conspiracy charge. The grand jury said he joined two associates and the Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee in contributing money to the Republican National Committee within 60 days of an election. The jury cited a 2001 plan that Delay helped create to aid Republicans seeking to gain control of the Texas House in 2002 -- power the party hadn't possessed since Reconstruction.

The action on Wednesday came on the heels of earlier indictments against Texans for a Republican Majority, a political action committee Delay and three colleagues founded that collected $190,000 in corporate contributions for state races. Texas law prohibits corporations from donating to political candidates.

Delay temporarily resigned from his post, as required by House Republican rules, but remains Texas' 22nd congressional district representative. He called the charge a "political witch hunt" led by Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, a Democrat who DeLay said is a "partisan zealot" who was using his office for "personal revenge." The accusation isn't grounded in fact, however, since Earle has previously prosecuted Democrats as well. It also is an odd accusation from Delay, nicknamed "the Hammer" because of threats and favors he used for more than a decade to gain contributions and build Republican power.

Under a system dominated by money, democracy becomes a commodity sold to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, the baseless accusation by DeLay and other Republican operatives that the prosecution is partisan is gaining more attention than the actions behind the conspiracy charge -- actions that have created the best political system that corporations can buy. That's the real conspiracy on which all Americans should focus.