Politiqueras

The Houston Chronicle looks into the politiquera system in Hidalgo County, examining the system that led to last week's voter fraud indictments.

My favorite part of the Chronicle story: Texas Ranger Israel Pacheco says that because Hidalgo County DA Rene Guerra didn't ask for help from the Texas Attorney General's office quickly enough, some vote thieves might escape justice. The district attorney, on the other hand, blames the lawman:

Guerra, who said he did not ask the grand jury to indict Brand Jr., faults the Texas Ranger investigation. He said the tape recording did not make it clear who was soliciting the fraudulent votes.

"I wish the FBI had kept the case, they would have controlled the recording and made it a better quality recording," Guerra said.

Of course, this isn't the first time the DA blamed cops for bungling a case.

In a related note, citizen watchdog group Futuro McAllen tells KURV 710 Talk Radio that the grand jury's findings are consistent with Futuro's findings about questionable mail-in ballots in the mayoral election.