So It's Come to This

Since 1992 Monroe County Democrats haven't been able to make the sale to voters on the basis of their principles or policies.   Actually, they haven't offered much in the way of policy other than proposals that would benefit themselves politically, or that implicitly criticize successive Republican County Executives.

As a last resort, they're now criminalizing ordinary political activity.

We're not talking about "Robutrad," which should be fully prosecuted to the extent of criminal activity involved.

But arresting someone because, as a campaign volunteer, he merely wrote a piece of campaign literature?

An arrest, moreover, timed for Labor Day weekend, the traditional political campaign kick-off date.

Imagine if Andrew Moore held any job other than Executive Director of the County GOP.   The Democratic District Attorney would have fired for incompetence an Assistant DA who sought an indictment on a junk charge like this.

Even the Democrat and Chronicle felt obligated to include this in its report:

David Shapiro, a former prosecutor who teaches forensics accounting at New York City-based John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said he was surprised to see a political endorsement letter at the center of a criminal charge of rewarding official misconduct. The crime requires the accused to knowingly “confer” — or help others confer — a “public benefit” upon a public servant who violates his or her duty.
• • •
“It must have been a great letter,” Shapiro said. “It almost makes (this allegation) seem kind of funny, except for the fact that the person indicted has to go through this ordeal.”

Maybe Professor Shapiro can tell us how the law deals with a District Attorney corrupt enough to abuse his office in this way.

At least we now know the Democrats' strategy to take the County Legislature, in order to be able to cripple the County Administration for the next two years.

Will we see a succession of political arrests between now and November?   Perhaps.

Moore, like the others who may be arrested in the weeks ahead under the Democratic campaign plan, will be acquitted easily.   But none will go to trial until after the November elections.   That's why the arrests didn't start happening until now.

Maybe the voters won't fall for it.   If they do, they will have voted in their own punishment.