Tom DeLay, who had a moment in the sun last week when he learned the feds decided not to prosecute him, didn't fare as well in state court today.

The Judge refused to move his trial from Travis County, which includes Austin, which DeLay claimed was too liberal a county to be fair.

His trial is tentatively set for Oct. 26.

DeLay was indicted in 2005 on charges that he illegally sent $190,000 in corporate money through the Republican National Committee to help elect GOP Texas legislative candidates in 2002.

DeLay has pleaded not guilty to money laundering and conspiracy.

The court also held a hearing today on former prosecutor Ronnie Earle's alleged improprieties before the grand jury. (Background here.) Earle testified out of the presence of the media.

More on Ronnie Earle here, along with my advice to Tom DeLay to quit talking to the media and listening to his PR people and let his excellent attorney speak for him.

Via John Cole, Not the Onion:

John McCain, your country is calling

By David S. Broder
Thursday, August 26, 2010

Now that John McCain has taken care of his political business in Arizona, it is time for him to return to Washington and the responsibilities he bears as a leader of the Republican Party and the nation. I did not begrudge him the $20 million he spent to win Tuesday's primary, or whatever amount it was. Nor was I bothered by the doctrinal compromises the senator made in order to convince Arizona voters that he was, in fact, a conservative. McCain has always been a realist, doing what was necessary to survive a North Vietnamese prison camp or a tough political trap. His 2000 embrace of George W. Bush -- a man he had every reason to dislike -- showed his practicality, and it made possible his own presidential nomination in 2008.

[. . .] One obvious area where he will be needed is his favorite field, national security. Iraq, where he was prescient and persistent, still poses challenges, and Afghanistan, where Obama badly needs a Republican partner, is likely to be in crisis before it can be called a success. Behind them looms Iran, which could be this nation's next big test. [. . .] A load of work -- but John McCain has never shirked.

(Emphasis supplied.) Best Broder column ever. Medical marijuana perhaps? The pinnacle of Broderism. The Highest Broder of all time.

Speaking for me only

The Democratic candidate for Senator in Colorado Michael Bennet:

Regarding spending during his time in office [Bennet] said, “We have managed to acquire $13 trillion of debt on our balance sheet” and, “in my view we have nothing to show for it.” Speaking of the debt, he said our debt almost equals the economy. Regarding the current job situation, Bennet said the situation has been dire for over a decade saying, “We have created no net new jobs in the United States since 1998” which were the last two years of the Clinton administration. Pointing to a slide showing budget expenditures, he said that currently 65 percent of the budget was for social security, Medicaid and Medicare expenditures and that we could not grow our way out of debt.

Regarding the expiration of the Bush tax cuts Bennet would not commit to a position on whether to extend them simply saying, “I hope we look at it comprehensively.”

(Emphasis supplied.) Hell of a progressive candidate we got there. Sheesh. Mark this one down in the "who cares if he wins or loses" column. And yes, I expressed support for Bennet in the primary. I regret that support right now.

Speaking for me only

Open Thread.

Good post from kay at Balloon Juice:

It occurs to me that Jane Hamsher and Glenn Greenwald don’t claim long-term membership in the Democratic Party, and don’t base their careers on membership in the Democratic Party. They’re not “Democrats” so much as they are “liberals” and they don’t support a Party platform so much as they support individual issues. But that’s not true of Carville and Rendell and Reich and the rest. They’re Party people.

I wouldn’t expect individual liberals or issue advocates to rally ‘round Obama. Instead I would expect the people who identify as members of the Democratic Party to rally ‘round the Democratic President and broader Democratic platform, because that’s one of the roles of a political Party.

The "Professional Left" does not work for the DNC, where the Professional Dems reside. You have to ask yourself if the Professional Dems are earning their money. I'd say not.

Speaking for me only

If Alan Simpson is allowed to remain on the President's Deficit Commission, what little credibility the Commission has will completely disappear. Via Joan McCarter:

Simpson's email, which OWL chief Ashley Carson released publicly, (PDF) was sent in response to an April blog post Carson wrote for the Huffington Post. [. . .] His email is peppered with exclamation points and condescension. At one point he urged Carson to read a certain graph, "which I hope you are able to discern if you are any good at reading graphs."

Simpson concludes by implying that leading a major organization dedicated to the interests of middle-aged and elderly women is not "honest work." "If you have some better suggestions about how to stabilize Social Security instead of just babbling into the vapors, let me know," he writes. [. . .] Call when you get honest work!"

On the merits of the issues of the deficit, Alan Simpson is a proven Know Nothing. But we all know that is a feature, not a bug, in DC. But if Simpson has reached a stage where his mental capacity does not permit him to avoid this type of expression, I don't think he can credibly remain on this commission. Simpson is an embarrassment to the President now. He should resign and the President should ask him to if he does not volunteer.

Speaking for me only

Last Night's primary results highlighted the strength of the Tea Party in the Republican Party. Will this be a positive development for the Republican Party and/or the ideals, such as they are, of the Tea Party? Most folks think not. We'll see. But to me it highlights the state of flux of the political debate. The old order of Beltway politics seems to be in some danger.

Many thought the ascension of Barack Obama to the Presidency was a transforming change (and in terms of race, obviously it was) in our politics. Nearly two years later, this obviously is not true. And this fact creates an interesting and possibly dynamic opportunity for progressives to change the course of the political debate. I'll explain why I think so on the flip.

Firedoglake and Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, creators of the Just Say Now campaign to legalize medical and recreational use of marijuana, are protesting Facebook's decision to reject their ads. Facebook objects to the ads because they display a marijuana leaf and Facebook doesn't allow ads for smoking products.

Just Say Now has started a petition to get reinstated.

Morning.

Open Thread.

I was in Missouri this weekend. Saw a few political ads - not impressed with the work and found that the folks in the heartland are not really tuned in to politics, but to the degree they were, they sure don't like Obama and the Dems. Judging by what I heard, I smell a 1994-style rout.

The good news? College football is just around the corner. Go Gators!

Open Thread.

Turkana writes:

Businesses aren't creating jobs, and they have no intention of doing so unless they see signs that consumers will again resume spending. Consumers won't be spending as long as they have nothing or too little to spend. It's a feedback loop. There is only one way to break it. It has to be the government. The government has to create jobs. Infrastructure. Clean energy. Mass transit. There are plenty of social goods for government to fund, and there are plenty of people who are willing and able to be trained and employed. It has to happen. And only the government can do it.

This was true in February 2009, July 2009, December 2009, March 2010 and it is true today. The failure of Democrats to make this argument and attempt to shape policy reflecting this reality makes it impossible for Dems to go to the voters and argue (and defend) this policy. Instead, they run a clownish Recovery Summer campaign. This is a political and policy failure. And the political price Dems will pay in November for this failure will be high. The policy result from the political result will make things worse. The real life damage of the Dems' political and policy incompetence will be immense and longlasting.

Speaking for me only

Is he wrong?

"President Obama should ask for -- and accept -- the resignations of the remaining members of his economic team, starting with Secretary Geithner and Larry Summers," Boehner (R., Ohio) said in an economic address to the City Club of Cleveland.