Hillary Scores a Hit on Gonzales Resignation

In an otherwise bothersome post (how is singing the same song on Gonzales bad?  So you don’t like it when Dems provide a united front?), Don Frederick (LA Times) has a really nice catch:

It said: “The second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is one more reminder that the president must appoint someone to lead the Department of Justice with the leadership and competence necessary to defend the Constitution.”

At first blush, the connection between the catastrophe that afflicted New Orleans and defending the Constitution struck us as puzzling.  But it made more sense in light of speculation that Michael Chertoff, head of the of Department of Homeland Security, could be Bush’s choice to succeed Gonzales.

Both Chertoff and his agency were roundly criticized for the poor federal response to Katrina.  Clinton seems to be sending a clear signal that Bush should think twice about asking the Senate to confirm Chertoff as the next attorney general.

And the Republicans should think twice about letting him get away with another recess appointment.  Sneaking Chertoff in will not go unnoticed, and would speak volumes about the Republican party’s vision for ’08 and beyond.  Meanwhile, tip of the hat to Hillary Clinton.  Starting to build pressure against Chertoff now is a really good move.

Goodbye Gonzales (See You In Court)

Alberto Gonzales has resigned.  While I’m happy to see him leave, the next guy isn’t likely to be Johnny Justice:

For starters, W. will try to put one person forward, the dems will nix them, and W. will appoint in the middle of the next vacation of congress. This person will simply replace gonzales and will ensure that no real investigation occurs until the end of W. time.

Gonzales replaced this guy, after all.  Its not going to get better folks.  Bloggernista some of the reactions from Congress.  This one quote by the delusional McConnell was priceless (Guardian):

“It is my hope that whomever President Bush selects as the next attorney general, he or she is not subjected to the same poisonous partisanship that we’ve sadly grown accustomed to over the past eight months,” McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement.

Poisonous Partisanship.  Bitterly ironic quip, given that is precisely what Gonzeles, Rove and Bush are being investigated for.  And they are still very much under investigation:

“This resignation is not the end of the story. Congress must get to the bottom of this mess and follow the facts where they lead, into the White House,” Reid warned.

Right on!  We’ve got to encourage our Congressional leaders who are actually doing something to keep fighting.  This is about more than just the Attorney General (Guardian, emphasis mine):

Thousands of documents released by the Justice Department show a White House plot, hatched shortly after the 2004 elections, to replace U.S. attorneys. At one point, senior White House officials, including Rove, suggested replacing all 93 prosecutors. In December 2006, eight were ordered to resign.

They considered replacing every federal prosecutor.  I hadn’t realized that before, and seeing it now, its startling to say the least.  Gonzales may be headed out the door, but we need to make sure we hold him and this entire administration accountable for what they have done to our political system.  And we need to make damn sure another Republican doesn’t get into office in 2008.  Otherwise what Bush, Rove and Gonzales attempted, Rudy “Caligula” Guiliani and his own troupe will achieve:  A one party US.

Bush/RNC Email Scandal

For an administration so eager to spy on Americans, they sure do love their guilty-looking secrecy (emphasis mine):

Spamicles alerts us to a report just issued (PDF) by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. At least 88 White House officials used Republican National Committee email accounts for government business. The RNC has destroyed at least some of the emails from 51 of those officials. Law requires emails sent by officials to be stored or recorded. There is evidence that White House lawyers and the (current) Attorney General knew of this but did not act to stop it. From the article: “These e-mail accounts were used by White House officials for official purposes, such as communicating with federal agencies about federal appointments and policies… Given the heavy reliance by White House officials on RNC e-mail accounts, the high rank of the White House officials involved, and the large quantity of missing e-mails, the potential violation of the Presidential Records Act may be extensive.”

Republicans like to try to distance themselves from Bush, but in every scandal, they play a role. Whether it is evidence nanny or scheming mastermind, we’ve had more than just a Bush administration, we’ve had a quintessential Republican administration.

Why Fire Gonzales?

The White House is considering keeping Gonzales on board.  Good.  This has always been about the entire Bush administration.

After all, dropping Rummy did wonders for the war, right?  We should expect no less if Gonzales is given the boot:  More of the same.

Normalizing Racism

When the people gripe about political correctness (ignoring that its history), they ignore a nasty underlying truth.

The Daily Show indulges in some racial stereotypes:

“Seedy Gonzales,” yeh.

“If Alberto Gonzales is guilty, then we are all Mexicans,” mocks Aasif Mandvi, a man I find very funny, usually. He ridicules a stance that was never taken—that Gonzales is being targeted because of his Mexicanness. And to watch Mandvi be the one positioned as Expert on Gonzo’s use of the “race card” feels like an old, lazy racist trick.

and Dan Riehl dips deep into same putrid bucket:

TBogg this morning treated us to a sampling of the Dan Riehl brand of humor

…

Har de har har. Didja catch that? Huh? Wink wink nudge nudge:

“ringing the taco bell””learn to read and comprehend the news””Were his parents illegal immigrants?”

“a water boy”

Now, Matt Ortega himself is nice and civil about all this. He responds to the argument on its ostensible merits

The idea that one’s race presents a valid front for criticism and satire in and of itself is, to be kind, less than appealing. What is revealing is that by using race as a means of critique, one can dig deep into the uglier parts of the audience’s psyche. As Nezua notes:

No, there has been no cause to draw focus to Alberto’s Mexicanness. Until now, when he is caught breaking the law. Why am I not surprised.

This is all a means of distancing. To the administration and its supporters Gonzales was “one of us”, until he became politically risky. More accurately, until he became the go to scapegoat for this administration’s reckless disregard for the law, and it’s position on torture. Using the Attorney General’s race is just the latest bit of ugliness to come out of this administration.

The racial jokes and stereotyping that have become part of the soap opera legitimize and further the administration’s transparent dodge. We’re left staring at a guilty man of Mexican descent, when we should look beyond a powerful yet complicit Attorney General to the source of his power and motivation for his crimes.

When racism is left standing, we are left with its deadly effect: Distraction. No wonder it is a favorite tool of the politically ruthless.

The Decider not the Understander

No wonder incompetent is the most popular description of the President.

Newsweek via throwingstrones (emphasis mine):

NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell wondered whether Gonzales might have taken the president’s questions as a call to action. But Bush said he had no idea about the impact of his own discussions. “You’re going to have to ask Al that question,” he said. In other words, the president—who has the power to fire U.S. attorneys at will—doesn’t know if his words carry weight inside his own cabinet.

Ouch.

Gonzales: Republicans, Lies, and the Law

The US Attorney scandal keeps looking worse and worse.   Republican party loyalists are going through the motions of opposition, but how many times can you compare the Republican’s impressive track record to Bill Clinton’s affair and perjury?

The implications of these nearly reflexive lies should ring alarm bells:

None of these acts occur in isolation. They are all part of the broader view of the Bush administration that the President’s power cannot be constrained by the law or by the Congress. They believe they have the right to lie to Congress about their behavior, even though lying to Congress is, as Atrios noted today, a felony.

It should come as no surprise then that Gonzales is not going to resign.  Of course not.  His acceptance of responsibility rings especially hollow: he rejects the consequences.

How ironic that the head of the Justice Department has so little regard for justice.

Bush, Rove, Gonzales: Subverting Justice

The emerging scandal over the politically motivated firings of US Attorneys is sending up those tell-tale pre-boil bubbles.

Democrats are calling for Attny General Gonzales to resign.

There is evidence Rove has been behind this the whole time.

Meanwhile the media’s johnny-come-lately approach to real reporting is again cast in sharp relief against the crimes they failed to cover previously.  As Kagro X at dailykos notes:

Well, keep in mind that this is the same “administration” that talked our newly awakened friends at The Times into sitting on the story of the NSA’s illegal domestic activities for more than a year. And why? Oh yes, there were the usual excuses about “national security,” to be sure. But what was the kicker? The paper shouldn’t unduly influence the outcome of the elections.

Heavens, no!

How can anyone still claim the NY Times is liberally biased?

That aside, the actions taken by this administration are damming:

It’s become clear that the “personnel matters” underlying the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys who wouldn’t “play ball”  — and the retention of those who would — is actually quite connected to the political manipulation of the use and timing of federal investigations of elected officials. U.S. Attorneys, as employees of the Department of Justice under the Bush “unitary executive” were expected to accelerate and/or conveniently time the launch of investigations of anyone on the “political enemies” list (read: Democrats) and either delay or simply bury anything implicating friends (read: Republicans).

Dibgy writes:

This little gambit has the mark of Rove all over it. The Arkansas crony was his little house boy. He even made the mistake of defending the decisions today and drawing himself into it publicly.

It’s long past time for Bush Brain to testify before congress, don’t you think?

Agreed.

Rove and Gonzales are undermining and corrupting the political process in the country.  My question is, when will the “decider” take responsibility for the actions of his underlings?

When will Bush testify before congress for what he has done to this country?