For Lieutenant Governor: Ronnie Earle

So since I early voted already I thought I would share the fact that for Lieutenant Governor I made former prosecutor Ronnie Earle my choice to run against Lieutenant Governor David Deworst this fall (I know how to spell his name correctly, I just choose not to).

I know it’s not what other lefty bloggers are doing. They are opting for the former VP of the AFL-CIO Linda Chavez-Thompson. Why they do this escapes me. The idea, I thought, of primaries was not only to choose the best candidate but also to choose the one who is more likely to win in November. Chavez-Thompson’s hyphenated name is not recognized beyond a few, especially here in union-less Texas.

Ronnie Earle, my choice, has a name that is not only recognized statewide, but nationally. He is famously noted as the point man that got Tom DeLay to pose for this mug shot, an act that eventually led to his resignation from the US Congress, a place that he ran like an iron fist. An act that eventually led to his brief stint on “Dancing With the Stars” where he demonstrated how he could nearly drop his dance partner on her keester.

And because he demonstrated this can-do approach to criminal behavior among politicians, Ronnie Earle is the guy who can bring needed change to the way the state of Texas does its business, or should I say, doesn’t do its business.

For instance, Earle is correct in his assessment that Texas’ tax structure is designed to favor the rich, who pay no taxes. Texas, Earle says, runs on the backs of the middle class. A class that he correctly believes is slowly but surely disappearing in Texas. So following this policy is fiscal suicide in the long term.

And yes, I heard Ronnie Earle speak yesterday at a Democratic Party workshop that was held in Bastrop, Texas. He came in toward the end of the workshop and spoke for a couple of minutes, and then took questions.

And yes, I got it on video. I am going to cherry pick a few clips and post them over the next couple of weeks. The first one is a response to a commenter in the audience who also lived in former Congressman Tom DeLay’s district.

Here was the comment:

“We’re from Fort Bend, we want to thank you because your work in Austin led us to getting rid of a scourge for Fort Bend County, Tom DeLay, and we . . . (applause and whoops).”

Here is what Ronnie Earle, who finds himself free of the fetters of office now and can now speak bluntly of his former case.




Even though I had already voted for Earle, I just have to say that anyone who says that going to the penitentiary wouldn’t be as embarrassing to DeLay than “Dancing With the Stars” has my vote.