It is really too bad that John shut down the Bay Area Houston website last week -- I'd love to get his take on this story.

A meeting behind a church with $10,000 cash changing hands, five-figure gifts for a city councilman's "birthday party" and a mistress funneling bribes through a sham consulting company were among details spelled out Monday in a federal indictment alleging corruption at Dallas City Hall.

The 166-page indictment accuses state Rep. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas, and former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill of extortion and bribery in soliciting and taking payments from affordable housing developers.

Former City Councilman James Fantroy was indicted separately on a charge that he embezzled more than $5,000 from traditionally black Paul Quinn College, where he was a director and treasurer of a program that received federal money.

In all, 16 people were indicted following an FBI-led public corruption probe that burst into view more than two years ago when agents raided city offices.

Hodge, Hill and others are accused of taking tens of thousands of dollars from real estate developer Brian Potashnik in exchange for helping his company obtain federal tax credits for low-income housing projects in predominantly minority neighborhoods.

The fact that the party affiliation of all but one of these individuals is left off this story is troublesome, but no matter -- I'm shocked that Rep. Hodge was identified by party. Democrats rarely get so labeled --pr at least not early enough in the story for people to pay attention to it.

But here is my question -- when will the "good government" folks of the Left, the ones who want to highlight every hint of scandal around a Republican and demand that they be disciplined, expelled, or forced to resign, insist that Rep. Terri Hodge must leave the Texas House immediately?

Or are they going to do a William Jefferson, and insist that we wait for the charges to be resolved in a court of law before anyone says she is guilty and must surrender her seat?

In other words, will Texas Democrats practice a little affirmative action and treat her differently than Tom DeLay because she is a black, female Democrat?

MORE AT Michelle Malkin, Urban Grounds, Riehl World View, Don Surber

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Outside the Beltway, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Perri Nelson's Website, DeMediacratic Nation, Jeanette's Celebrity Corner, Adam's Blog, Right Truth, The Populist, Webloggin, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, Conservative Cat, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Right Voices, Wake Up America, Gone Hollywood, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.