"Jesus will be my Cell Mate"

Thomas Dale DeLay, the former Orkin Man, posed for this mugshot (which will not be used for his passport pending new regulations against smiling) today for his indictment on conspiracy charges under Texas Law.

Innocent until proven guitly, DDT (if you're dyslexic) vows TO CONTINUE FUNDRAISING IN PRISON:

A defiant Rep. DeLay told reporters in Washington that being incarcerated would not slow his fundraising efforts “one iota” because it would enable him to tap into a cash-rich network of convicted CEO’s.

“If I’m behind bars, you can bet your fanny I’ll be reaching out to Dennis Kozlowski, Bernie Ebbers, and the rest of my people,” Rep. DeLay said. “I might be able to raise more money in prison than I could on the outside.”

The specter of Rep. DeLay hitting the fundraising mother lode while serving a prison sentence sent shivers through the Democratic Party establishment, with some party leaders openly wondering if there are any Democratic congressmen who could serve time behind bars to level the fundraising playing field.

But after a top-level meeting of the Democratic National Committee last night, DNC chief Howard Dean was pessimistic that a Democrat could be recruited to break a law or two and follow Mr. DeLay through the prison gates.

“If we Democrats are ever going to be competitive with Republicans in terms of fundraising, we simply are going to have to get better at committing crimes,” Mr. Dean said.