The death penalty as administered by the courts of Texas IS a political issue. Duh.
First of all, I never said it wasn't a political issue, so stop putting words in my mouth.
Ebert is saying it's not a political issue being taken seriously by the....MOVIE!!! The one that he's...REVIEWING. If he criticizes the death penalty, or at least the state of the execution system in Texas, fine...but the context of the review is different. He's attacking the movie (you have to read the rest of the review, not just the excerpt) for blatantly exploiting the issue while not taking sides.
Personally, I think you just don't understand this review and you aren't getting the point of it.
Once again, in that review, he lists examples of movies that do take sides on the issue without being exploitative, INCLUDING a movie that is PRO-death penalty ("The Executioner's Song").
I'll say it a third time; there are movies with a message different from his own that he gives favorable reviews to, including "Michael Moore Hates America." He also thought the move "In Good Company" had a message different from his own world view but he gave that one a thumbs up. I guess I'd better get ready to say it a fourth time, too.
If you think his writings "pale in comparision" to his early ones or whatever, fine, then just read Berardinelli like I do.