Category Archives: Politics: US

Brand Democrat has the sort of slogans that reflect the sort of thinking that wins elections.

OK, there's one on there I don't like, the one about WWII: even if the Republican isolationists fought entry to the war, they supported winning it, so I think it's wrong to paint it in partisan colors. I'd say the same about Vietnam, which was started by Democrats but escalated then lost by a Republican.

But otherwise, there's some great stuff there.

Do not forget that Gonzales — nominated to be the nation's top cop — is the guy who when the Plame investigation was bearing down on the White House ensured that the guilty parties had all the time they could want to shred everything incriminating:

Senator Harkin, quoted in the Congressional Record (emphasis added):

Let me give a quick recap of the timeline. It started with the President's deception in his State of the Union Address in January. In his remarks, Mr. Bush stated Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger. A few months later, in July, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson's op-ed appears in the New York Times, questioning the President's assertion.

Then in order to discredit Wilson and “seek revenge'' on Wilson, senior administration officials leaked to the press the identity of Wilson's wife and the fact she was a CIA operative, thereby undercutting our national security and clearly violating Federal law.

This happened in early July. Let's see what happened since.

On July 24, Senator Schumer calls on the FBI Director to open a criminal investigation into the leak of a CIA operative based on that column.

In late July, the FBI notified Senator Schumer that they had done an inquiry into the CIA.

Then it appears nothing happened for 2 months.

On September 23, the Attorney General says he and CIA Director Tenet sent a memo to the FBI requesting an investigation.

On September 26, the Department of Justice officially launches its investigation.

Interestingly, it took 4 days after that “official'' launch for the Justice Department to call White House Counsel Gonzales and notify him of the official investigation. Gonzalez then asked for an extra day before the Justice Department gave the White House the official notice, which means all documents and records must be preserved.

A recent letter was sent to the President from Senators Daschle, Schumer, Levin, and Biden which also expresses concern about this break from regular procedure.

They wrote:

Every former prosecutor with whom we have spoken has said that the first step in such an investigation would be to ensure all potentially relevant evidence is preserved, yet the Justice Department waited four days before making a formal request for documents.

Interestingly, the letter goes on:

When the Justice Department finally asked the White House to order employees to preserve documents, White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales asked for permission to delay transmitting the order to preserve evidence until morning. The request for a delay was granted. Again, every former prosecutor with whom we have spoken has said that such a delay is a significant departure from standard practice.

That is what has been happening—departure from standard practice.

I am also troubled that the White House Counsel's Office is serving
as “gatekeeper'” for all the documents the Justice Department has requested from the White House. Mr. Gonzales' office said he would not rule out seeking to withhold documents under a claim of executive privilege or national security.

What kind of a zoo is this outfit?

Mr. Gonzales says he can withhold these documents from this investigation on the basis of national security.

Don't care about liberal goo-goo stuff like Geneva conventions and torture? How about outing CIA agents and obstruction of justice?

In Ashcroft exits stage right, with a controversial successor waiting in the wings, The Carpetbagger Report spreads the rumor that the White House may be thinking of White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales as the next Attorney General.

That would be the same Gonzales who is up to his eye teeth in not just the torture memos, but also the idea that the US can unilaterally decide that the Geneva convention doesn't apply to people we designate as 'terrorists' even if they are captured on a battlefield.

I find this rumor very plausible. From the White House's perspective it's a can't-lose proposition. It makes a great trial run for Supreme Court nominations on multiple dimensions.

If the Democrats lie down on this one, it signals they may be patsies on far-right Justices. And, it substantially inoculates Gonzales himself if he turns out to be the Hispanic appointee the White House is said to desire: after all, if he was kosher enough to be the AG, why all of a sudden object to him on the Court?

On the other hand, if the Democrats dare to act like an opposition party faced with the most ideological and extreme government in the history of this nation, then the GOP can try to tar them as anti-Hispanic. Plus, when they filibuster a future paleoconservative Supreme Court nominee, the fight over Gonzales can be cited as evidence that those poor benighted Democrats just don't like anyone and are being continually obstructionist.

The lesson for the Democrats seems clear to me: if you are going to take damage either way, better to be hung for a lion than a lamb. Not to mention that Gonzales's conduct in office has been immoral. To allow him to hold office requiring confirmation is to partake of his taint.

UPDATE: Kos says it's official. Here we go…..

Thought for the day:

“There is a lot of ruin in a country,”
—John Maynard Keynes¹

¹ Brad's right—Adam Smith said it first.

Here's Ed Felton with a more elegant discussion of the verifiable voting problem I mentioned yesterday: see his Phonecams and the Secret Ballot.