Tom DeLay, the former Republican House Majority Leader, was recently sentenced to three years in prison, a sentence that is likely to be overturned on appeal. In fact, Judge Pat Priest, who sentenced DeLay, “acknowledged from the bench that appeals courts might not take the same view.”

The story of the witch hunt against Tom DeLay is a real life example of the liberal version of McCarthyism, only in this case the charges really are false. DeLay was the first major target in the Left’s attempt to criminalize their opposition.

To be clear, the charges against DeLay are frivolous. Beginning in 1995, Democrats, led by Nancy Pelosi, stated that their goal was to “take [DeLay] out.” SInce then, they have come after Tom DeLay with one fallacious charge after the other.

The latest charge against DeLay, which earned him a three year prison sentence, was for money laundering. DeLay’s PAC (Political Action Committee) legally raised money to pay for administrative duties. This should have been the end of the case, as Texas law requires ill-gotten money to prosecute a money laundering case.

DeLay’s PAC raised more money than it needed, and sent $190,000 to the Republican National Committee. The RNC then sent $190,000 to Republican candidates in Texas. This type of a transaction, known as a “swap,” is common practice in politics. In fact, DeLay’s PAC was copied from a model already employed by Texas Democrats.

Democrats hated Tom DeLay because he was an exceptionally effective Whip, and Majority Leader. As such, they pursued the politics of personal destruction. When Democrats could not beat DeLay, his party, or his ideas at the ballot box, they tried to criminalize his politics.

As an aside, the DA that went after DeLay, Ronnie Early is a political hack, well known for his repeated fishing expeditions against Texas Republicans.

The politics of personal destruction and the criminalization of politics has become standard operating procedure for the Left. They routinely engage in vicious character assassinations against their “enemies,” as President Obama refers to his political opposition. Additionally, Democrats have continued to use the legal system to attack conservatives.

A textbook example of the Left’s despicable tactics has been the campaign against Sarah Palin and her family. Immediately after Palin was introduced on the national scene, her entire family was subjected to a wide assortment of vicious calumny. Not content to just attack the candidate, incredibly, the media savagely maligned the Governor’s teenage daughters.

Since 2008, Sarah Palin has been the target of a relentless campaign of lies and hate, courtesy of the Left. In fact, just this week Palin was repeatedly blamed for the shooting in Arizona, despite the total lack of evidence to substantiate such a claim. When Palin dared defend herself, the media, absurdly, accused her of being an anti-Semite.

Also, Sarah Palin resigned as Governor of Alaska because she was being harassed by opponents whom abused the legal system. Palin’s opponents filed a plethora of inane ethics violations charges. The charges made against Palin were fatuous. However, they prevented Palin from being an effective governor, and buried her in legal debts at a time in her life when she could not afford a robust defense.

The Left’s character assassinations and criminalization of politics are dangerous. They will continue to steer good people away from politics, and ensure that the worst continue to rise to the top.