DeLay's Indictment Is Part Of A Bigger Problem

The conspiracy Tom DeLay is accused of being involved in is a total subversion of our Democracy. To illegally fund candidates for the state legislature therefore giving his party a majority in the house of representatives which would give him the ability to pass his mid-decade redistricting scheme. The Statesman editorial Lost in the ruckus over DeLay is this: A vital law is at stake, does a good job of pointing out that this is about corporate money going to legislative candidates which is against the law in Texas:

DeLay's PACs and the business group were trying to skirt a century-old law passed to keep businesses from controlling — owning, actually — the Texas Legislature. Two different district judges have upheld that law banning corporate funds from political campaigns, and Colyandro has been ordered to stand trial on a criminal charge of defying it

The point that they don't make in this article and many aren't making is just how much corporate money is there is in Texas politics.

If you want corporate money out of politics we need to do something different and that's where this editorial by gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell comes in, Seize this moment for reform. Many people have pointed out one thing about Chris Bell over and over, that he hasn't been able to raise much money yet. For the type of campaigning that must be done in the current environment that is not a good sign. Meaning the candidate with the most money wins most of the time. ut if people are tired of business as usual that shows that Chris Bell is not beholden to any corporation. The editorial lays out a "new covenant":

As I travel the state in my campaign for governor, I am recognizing a bipartisan consensus for reforms grounded in the principles of transparency and accountability. If we seize this opportunity to push for ethics reform, we will have accomplished something more meaningful than targeting the cash-and-carry criminality of one partisan leader.

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A new covenant between Texans and their government, starting with bipartisan ethics reform to make our state government and campaigns more transparent and accountable, would be a welcome and fitting conclusion to Tom DeLay's long history of unjustifiable actions. More importantly, it would be a new beginning for Texas.

With words like this about insurance companies, I wouldn't expect that to change any time soon:

We need to start with the insurance lobbyists. Insurance companies are ripping us off. They’re keeping about 70 cents of every dollar we pay them, overcharging us by about $4 billion a year, and covering less and less all the time. As governor, I’ll appoint an insurance commissioner who will make them lower their rates, putting $600 for each home and $200 for each vehicle back in your bank account where it belongs

It's good to know there is a candidate for governor in Texas who is without the stain of corporate money and therefore can take on the corporations and fight of the people.