Hammer Sandwich

The wingnuts are already busy trotting out the old saw that a good DA could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. Yeah, maybe. If there was a great deal of evidence that the ham sandwich had broken the law.

Tom DeLay was indicted today after months of investigation. He and the rest of the Republicon faithful will make sure that the media gives credence to the line that the indictment is a political vendetta. And maybe it is - maybe DA Ronnie Earle set his sights on DeLay like Ken Starr went after Clinton. Regardless of Earle's motivation, though, one fact soars high: the evidence that DeLay broke the law is strong.

A DA would not indict someone in a case like this if he didn't think he had an odds-on chance of winning in court. Many of the big contemporary corporate scandals have ended up with CEOs in prison precisely because their indictments have been preceded by meticulous investigations.

Though DeLay is within his rights to maintain his innocence until he gets sent up the river by a jury, this indictment will stand up to scrutiny - the evidence is darn compelling that he laundered money illegally, and the prosecution is prepared to meet its burden of proof. Tom DeLay is not a ham sandwich. He is one of the masterminds of a massive criminal syndicate that is defrauding the American people out of trillions of dollars, and he finally got caught playing his corrupt game. He will stand trial, and he will probably be convicted.

I hope they sell plenty of mayo in the prison commissary.