Here’s what Ronnie Earle said about the fact that the judge with a serious conflict of interest was removed in the Delay case (hat tip: Matt):

“This is not a political case,” argued Earle, a Democrat. “This is a criminal case.”

He argued that there is no precedent for disqualifying a judge because he makes political donations that the testimony on Tuesday reinforced Perkins’ reputation as a fair and impartial judge, and that it is common for Texas judges to make political donations. Earle added that Perkins’ donations - $5,255 over about five years - is a fraction of what DeLay can raise to fight his legal and political battles, including “intimidating the judges he disagrees with.”

Earle argued that removing judges under these circumstances could lead to a country split “into Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.“

Even if I tried, I couldn’t make up this kind of idiocy.