If there can be said to be an “establishment” response to the Perry indictment, it has been loudly expressed so far in his favor. This is understandable: a case about a veto, or the threat of a veto, built on a vaguely worded statute and poorly illuminated by a two-page, summary indictment, was bound to raise questions. But Perry has not only been defended against the application of the Texas statute in question, but also more profoundly as a victim of the “criminalization of politics”. Even if the law could be construed to reach the alleged conduct, it is argued, it should not be. Whether the Governor was moving to oust an adversary from office or protecting contributors from an inquiry into state grants, the prosecutor is mistaking hardball politics for corrupt politics. It is one example among others, the critics say, and they point to the failed Edwards prosecution as another instance of the same irresponsible application of the criminal laws.
Source: "The Criminalization of Politics" -
