Wrath of Earle feared in Texas

AUSTIN — Ronnie Earle, to many Republicans and especially Tom DeLay and his friends, appears as the devil incarnate: A rotten, mean-spirited Democrat with an ax to grind. Evil, partisan, unfair — and not too bright.

Here in the Texas capital — where they have elected him as their district attorney ever since 1976 — it is a bit more complicated when talking of things Earle.

Some, particularly those Democrats who consider him the only thing between them and threatened obsolescence for the Democratic Party statewide, admire him greatly.

Others, including members of the Legislature — heavily Republican — and their staffs, fear him somewhat, even make fun of him behind his back, but tread cautiously.

“He’s likable, works hard, but is a real weird duck,” one local lawyer told The Washington Times. “He doesn’t have many close friends, doesn’t mingle much. Nobody really knows what to make of him.”

“I would be a fool to comment on this,” said one Senate aide last week. “Anything could happen to me or my boss.”

Lawyers who deal with the district attorney’s office regularly will talk about Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst or House Speaker Tom Craddick — often colorfully — but generally they shy away from remarks about Mr. Earle or his realm.

“It’s not that we are afraid,” said one, glancing around to see if anyone was in earshot, “but this guy has the power. You know, the real power. And he’s known to have been vindictive.”

Mr. Earle doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. “I’m just doing my job,” he must have repeated to 50 different reporters last week.

Texas, unlike most states, does not allow its attorney general to prosecute criminal cases at the state level. That falls to the Travis County district attorney. That makes him by far the strongest district attorney in the state.

Anyone who has been the top crime-fighter in a community for nearly three decades undoubtedly has a record — one that probably speaks more eloquently than random interviews with friends and foes.

And Mr. Earle does.

In dealing daily with crime and punishment — and facing re-election every four years — any district attorney will suffer blots. For Mr. Earle, several specific cases stand out that indicate he is not necessarily an outstanding prosecutor and that his judgment has been questionable at best.

“Most of my wounds have been self-inflicted,” he often says.

Questionable investigations of then-Texas attorney general Jim Mattox (1983) and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (1994) are often mentioned as politically motivated vendettas.

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