(from Alan Bernstein of the Chron)
The leadership of the Harris County Republican Party is meeting in a private, emergency session tonight to discuss the political fallout over personal e-mails sent by Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal to his executive secretary.
"We will discuss how to proceed as a party," county GOP Chairman Jared Woodfill said.
The meeting included Republican Party parliamentarian Mike Riddle and his wife, state Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball.
Wednesday is the deadline for candidates to sign up to run in the March 4 Republican primary, and Woodfill acknowledged that one path for the party could be to encourage others to challenge Rosenthal in that contest.
(snip)
Some members of the county GOP advisory committee hoped to discuss tonight whether to encourage Rosenthal to resign or declare that he will not seek re-election after his current term expires at the end of 2008.
Rosenthal's political consultant, Allen Blakemore, said he has talked frequently in the past few days with party leaders about his opinion that no other highly qualified candidate is positioned to run.
The county GOP chairman talked about the e-mails before the meeting.
"It's not good. They are horrible," Woodfill said. "The district attorney has made a mistake."
Ladies and gentlemen, the Lose an Eye Political Guffaw Award (heretofore to be known as the "Guffie") for political understatement of the year goes to Harris County Republican Party Chairman Jared Woodfill.
A mistake.
Writing personal e-mails to a woman (not his wife) on taxpayer-funded time thus opening up a whole can of worms regarding legality, ethics, and the party in question hanging on to the office of District Attorney is "a mistake".
I guess if you refer to doing something so dunderheaded that it pretty much signals the end of your political career, and that puts your party in the untenable position of trying to make a last minute decision that's probably not going to play well with a large portion of the community not matter WHAT you decide "a mistake" then, OK. I guess, according to Mr. Woddfill that the Republicans have made a lot of "mistakes" in the recent past. Wide stances in stalls, getting tied up with Abramhoff and the entire ARMPAC mess, the Congressional page scandals? All "mistakes".
So the navel gazing begins, and continues much as does the piling on. Both the shallow and the thoughtful.
At the end of the day however Rosenthal, and the Republican Party has done precious little to keep their Holy House (by their reckoning) in order. So the Democrats have the same right to "pile on" as many on the Right did (with lame jokes as well BTW) during the whole Clinton "I did not have sex with that woman" mess. It's free crack night in the Republican bashing ferret hut, and the Democratic wolves are salivating.
Eat well kids.
As for me? I'm of the same mind on this issue as I was with the whole Clinton affair. I could care less about Rosenthal's sexual escapades, provided it was between consenting adults. His marital infidelities will have to be worked out in his house.
What I AM concerned about is how much of this went on during taxpayer-funded time, and whether or not there were laws broken relating to private use of public property etc. Until we know that, all of this is just schedenfreude of the highest order, a public turning in the wind of (to borrow from Slampo) a very sanctimonious figure who is getting his very public comeuppance for all to see.
As far as it relates to the Harris County DA's race?
I disagree with the Professor's assertion that the race is now back to all square. To say that ignores the very real role in the crime lab mess that Rosenthal played when he was convicting all of those people based primarily on faulty test results from the lab. I said back then that Bradford was probably the only candidate with worse crime lab stains than Rosenthal, but I also said that the general public isn't very well versed on the subtleties of the issue, and that the negative campaigning would be epic.
Now you can add to Rosenthal's negatives this little escapade, which means that Bradford has to be viewed as having a slight advantage which will be chipped away at by going even more negative by the Rosenthal campaign. IF, that is, he isn't talked into pulling out of the race. (A possibility that I would rate at around 30/70% right now).
Either way, if you're a Republican supporter, this has to make you feel a little blue (pun intended) about the prospects of a continued Republican stranglehold on elected office. That your' "leadership" is dealing with this behind "closed doors" also shows the ineptitude of Woodfill et al. They honestly THINK that the voters cannot make up their own minds regarding what the right thing is to do.
It's that kind of "leadership" that has caused several moderates and others to bolt from the Party of late.
UPDATE: Just as I finished this post: The Chron tells us that Rosenthal is determined to stay in DESPITE the "executive council" telling him he should stay out....
(more from Alan Bernstein)
Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal is refusing the Republican Party leadership's request Sunday night to remove his name from the 2008 ballot.
After a four-hour emergency meeting, the 15-member GOP advisory committee voted unanimously to ask Rosenthal to step aside in the wake of the controversy that's followed the mistaken release of his personal e-mails, including dozens sent to his executive secretary.
Despite their request, Rosenthal was adamant about pursuing re-election.
"I'm going to run for district attorney and I'm going to win," he said, leaving the headquarters as party leaders continued to talk behind closed doors.
And so we go.
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