Jun.08, 2010, 8:54 AM Tue

The story of an out-of-state political operative steering secret money through a corporation to put the Green Party on the Texas ballot has a certain familar ring to it. As we reported Sunday, the consultant and the corporation collaborated on a petition drive that yielded 92,000 signatures, which they gave the Green Party as an in-kind contribution. The Green Party, in turn, delivered the signatures to the secretary of state to get on the fall ballot. The actual source of the money that bankrolled the petition drive remains a mystery. But the beneficiary is clear: Gov. Rick Perry and other Republicans whose Democratic opponents could lose votes to liberal Green Party candidates.

It's certainly not the first time secret money and Texas politics have combined to made news. The estimable Harvey Kronberg nicely puts it all into larger context. He notes:

Tom DeLay and several Republican operatives still face criminal charges for allegedly laundering secret corporate money into the 2002 elections, which helped the GOP gain a majority in the Texas House. The prize the following year was the DeLay inspired congressional redistricting that favored Republicans.

This year's mystery money involves the Green Party petition drive -- arranged by a Republican consultant, funded through a Missouri corporation and conducted by a Chicago-based petition-gathering firm. Green Party state coordinator Kat Swift says the group plans to list the Missouri corporation, Take Initiative America, as the donor. As we report today, that might be illegal. Corporate money and all that, remember? The Democratic state chairman is calling on the Greens to withdraw the signatures. Pressure could grow on the Greens to find out and report the actual source of the mystery money. Stay tuned.