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I'm beginning to wonder if the US Attorney firing/force-out scandal may well be the Grand Unifying Scandal that connects most if not all of the other Bush scandals.
Like a loose bit of yarn on a sweater, pulling on it tugs at a whole bunch of other things involving the Bush Junta's extreme politicization of the Justice Department -- not to mention the rest of the Federal government -- and the extreme efforts made by the top players to avoid facing any kind of penalties for wrongdoing.
These are what come most readily to my mind concerning the wide-ranging nature of the USA scandal:
-- There's PhoneGate: Looks like BushCo's people may well have applied pressure to get an RNC operative off on a technicality.
-- There's the similarly-stinky-smelling effort to give Jack Abramoff a cushy deal. [03/30/07 UPDATE: And now there's another Abramoff connection, in the form of Abramoff's involvement in the 2002 firing of a US Attorney before he could take down an Abramoff pal, the corrupt then-governor of Guam. Brilliant.]
-- There's the alleged BushCo sabotage of the tobacco suit.
-- There's the attempt by the Bush Junta to pressure the USAs into investigating bogus "voter fraud scandals" designed to damage Democrats.
-- There's the Bush Junta's cutting short Carol Lam's probes in the Duke Cunningham and Dusty Foggo scandals -- probes that were poised to take down other corrupt congresscritters -- by firing Lam as part of the US Attorney massacre.
-- There's even a Patrick Fitzgerald connection.
The key, I believe, is Karl Rove. This is perhaps a bit like saying that water is wet to most clued-in FDL readers, but he's looking more and more like the ultimate loose bit of yarn whose tugging causes the whole sweater to unravel. Not even Cheney is as necessary to the continued functioning of the junta. Rove is the Bush White House, for all intents and purposes; that's why he's protected so carefully.
Look at the list of scandals above. Notice the ones in which he now know him to have played at least a minor (and probably major) role:
-- There's USA-Gate in general, of course, and most especially the Arkansas chapter of USA-Gate, wherein even DoJ now admits that a perfectly good prosecutor was dumped so Rove's unqualified minion could take the job. And Rove was in on USA-Gate from the very beginning.
-- Speaking of USA-Gate, one reason Rove was so interested in seeing Bush zampolit installed as US Attorneys was to further the GOP's pet cause of pushing politically-motivated, evidence-thin "voter fraud" prosecutions against Democrats.
-- We know that Rove was sufficiently buddy-buddy with Jack Abramoff (who boasted of his ties to Rove and to Bush and Company in general) to hire Susan Ralston, Abramoff's former assistant, as his White House assistant. Ralston no longer works for Rove , having been caught, um, working on behalf of her old boss. (Speaking of Abramoff: Another former College Republican president, Ron Nehring, was apparently the architect of the plan to zap Carol Lam -- and is now the brand-new head of the California Republican Party. And of course Rove in his younger days was high in the hierarchy of that gang of dirty-tricks artistes. Ah, connections.)
-- And as Joe Conason reminds us at Salon, Rove lied like a rug early and often in the Plame case -- which as I've already noted has the Fitz connection to USA-Gate.
These are just some of the reasons why Bush doesn't dare let Rove testify under oath before Congress, much less in an open hearing before Congress. It would be the end of BushCo.
By the way: As Christy just mentioned this morning, Monica Goodling, the DoJ's White House liaison (meaning the DoJ's Rove liaison), just went on an extended leave of absence. This is right after her role as the go-between with Gonzales and the Bush White House in the US Attorney firings was spotlighted. Hmmm.
The heat must be getting to Karl — Specter and Hagel were out on the talk-show circuit dissing Gonzales this morning, so it sure sounds like Rove’s ready to jettison the Gonzo firewall.
Here’s a thought: If Gonzo had left last week over this, the whole bidness would have likely settled down and Rove would be safe. But it would be yet another humiliating loss of a good buddy for Bushie, as Gonzales has been him nearly long as Rove, IIRC. Now, too many reporters are joining with their blogger brethren into focusing on Turdblossom’s role in all of this.
What really hurts the Blossom is that this comes so soon after the Libby trial, and the whole ‘why isn’t Karl on trial here?’ theme of jury nullification the Libby team tried to use. That didn’t have time to fade from the public mind before this came up.
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Phoenix Woman!
katymine @ 1
Katymine!
Grand Unified Scandal Theory — a GUST of fresh air.
I would like to see Waxman or Conyers start asking some questions about why there haven’t been more indictments coming out of the Abramoff case, what with Jack being so cooperative and all.
I was sure a whole bunch of names were going to come out before the 2006 election and take a bunch of corrupt Republicans out of circulation, and… nothing. And *still* nothing, even now that the election is safely past.
On the other hand, if they want to keep a lid on the names until, say, early next fall, I’d be okay with that…
Some FDL readers may not know what a “Zampolit” is. It’s a russian word associated with the dreaded “Political Officer” position. Zampolits made sure everyone, from the general to the private, toed the Party Line. They were immune from even the faint shreds of due process and legal rights in the old soviet union, and to most of the unwritten old-boy patronage protections as well. They could literally whip out their guns and kill on the spot, with impunity, just because. Imagine how much fun life was with them around. And Karlosivitch Rovski is clearly cut from that political cloth. I’m just waiting for him to appoint Rush Limbaugh as the “Minister of Truth”.
Unitary Executive = Unified Scandal?
Bush is more of a Urinary Executive, really…
My two cents on this whole USA-Gate or Gonzales 8 scandal…
If Gonzo had resigned right away …
If they had found positions for the terminated USA’s and/or not sited the firing reason poor performance …..
This whole thing would of skated through without anyone knowing. BushCo/Rove would of replaced the outgoing USA’s with political appointees, they get their 2 years experience, Bush does a ton of recess appointments to the bench prior to leaving to any and all lifetime positions.
Goal: they have finally stacked the bench against any future prosecution.
Let’s see.. In support of your theory, Bill Maher used a metaphor Friday Night for… what did he call it?… “Scandal and Fuck-up of The Week” restaurant….
“I think I’ll have the Harriet Meirs Meat Loaf… or, no! Maybe I’ll order the Katrina Crab Cakes..”
On point, with regard to DOJ, it seems to be the clearing house of Rove’s Fascist, authoritarian agenda… Sort of where the Fascist rubber meets the road.
The Texas method of having partisan elections for judges was Rove’s training ground.. He taught Chimpy everything he knows… Which, granted, is not a lot… But he is still teaching..
oregondave @ 3
Let’s hope it’s a gust that clears out the bad odor left by BushCo.
New String Theory…
…just keep pulling on it.
If you want to destroy my sweater (or crime family government)…
Wo-wo-wo.
Watch me unravel, I’ll soon be naked.
I’ve been contemplating that loose-yarn-in-the-sweater image since it became clear how pivotal these DOJ firings and intimidations were to the Rove Plan for Caligulan Dictatorship… And now, with the discovery of the
super-extra-secret email server at GWB43, the contents of which will hopefully (they damn well better) be subpoenaed, we may have the loosest of all the loose threads, and the most connected– the Rove machine, dangling prettily in the breeze, for all to tug at.
Puesto @ 8
It’s very simple. If you’re breaking the law on a regular basis, then you need to maintain absolute control over the enforcement of the law.
This week, a Very Special TurdBlossom . . .
david baerwald @ 11
I’m sure that server has met with an oh-so-unfortunate fluke power surge by now.
david baerwald @11
The problem of subpoena the GWB43 email server is that it is owned and operated by the RNC.
Can you imagine the shit storm if they did subpoena the RNC by a Democratic Justice committee?
Holly cow…. if you thought a BJ in the oval office was firestorm….
katymine @ 8
That’s exactly it. They got TOO arrogant — they figured that, since for so long their fellow Republicans have been willing to knuckle under, that they could drop all the niceties and smear them in response to the TPM findings.
Ooooooopsie!
Katymine… It seems to me they have not, will not get rid of Gonzo until he is a sufficiently “High Value Target” ie; If we give you his head, will all this go away?
Not until then, IMNSHO, will they throw him under the bus.
BUT, it looks as though this strategy is getting way out of control..
A Republican Congressional staffer was quoted a couple of days ago [paraphrase] “we just hope the time for them to leave gets here before they do any more damage..”
Too late.. Cat’s out of the bag! IF - and it is a big IF - there is a bloodthirsty enough Dem or two to get serious for the long haul.. Big IF..
katymine @ 8
Nice post and graphic PW!
If anyone wants to see John Bolton get a well-deserved thrashing during BBC question time, here ya go. It’s oh so good. (I am pretty sure pammy is mighty steamed over this.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-zAAsaZPrg
EPUed from previous thread:
Thread Theorist @ 145
Another facet of this scandal is that part of the motive for the unprecedented mid-term firings of the US-Attorneys was to stock the “bench” of potential federal judge appointments. Rove figured that a US-A needed at least 2 years on the job to qualify for a federal judge appointment, and that these appointments would come near the end of Bush’s term. At the very least none of the 8 replacements now stands a chance of being appointed as a federal judge including Rove’s guy, and Tolman as well.
IMO, this is at the heart of the matter. This is typical of Rove’s thinking: control the judiciary long-term. The selection process was secondary. Again, IMO, Rove used Sampson and others to produce a list of those attorneys that they DIDN’T want to ever become judges–because they weren’t “loyal Bushies”, i.e., couldn’t be trusted in future to rule against Democrats. The rest of the complaints–immigration, gun cases, pornography–were just tangential issues to supposedly build up a case against attorneys that they had decided to throw overboard for larger political reasons.
New per Phoenix Woman’s post: All of these actions are tied in to creating the “permanent Republican majority” that Rove and Cheney have dreamed about.
Unified scandals:
Don’t forget USA Black in Guam who was getting too close to the Marianas slave labor and forced abortions thingie.
david baerwald @ 12
Lordy, yes! The GWB43 server! Imagine what the gang at 2600 could do if they cracked that server. (Assuming that it’s still online — one would think that the first thing Rove did when the existence of this server was made public was to move everything to another server.)
I agree, but one thing I would add to the dialog is that instead of just discussing these matters just in terms of Obstruction of Justice, I think we need to frame it more broadly as Abuse of Power. Just as Richard Nixon was rebuked in his efforts to use the IRS as a club against his “enemies list,” we must point out early and often how this President is attempting to stack the deck and subvert the democratic process.
Hey, Eli, did you get my link to Barbara Bush’s picture that I posted at Late night and near the end of previous thread? (To me, it’s even better than the wedding picture.) She’s in a bathing suit. It’s worth the trip. Let me know if you can’t find it and I’ll post it again.
PW,
You are on to the most important connections. This is not tin foil hat stuff but real. Karl Rove’s reach on this political killing squad reaches to every dirty trick the R’s have engaged in since 1999. Ohio, Florida, Foley, caging lists, prosecutions for political reasons, lack of prosecutions -same reasons, targeting emerging leaders and purging unreliable repugs everywhere.
If it is political it is Karl Rove and if it is not political Karl will make it political. Power being the desired product of the conspiracies.
That “middling” rating for Fitz, which came as it did when he was questioning Karl Rove in the Libby trial, was a trial ballon of stupendous magnitude (as Lester Hayes might have said).
Between this bogus rating and the affirmative discussion in early ‘05 of firing all 93 attorneys (which would have included Fitz), we see the bubbling up of a conspiracy to obstruct Fitzgerald’s investigation.
Someone needs to subpoena that GWB43.com server pronto. Who cares if it looks “political”? The people’s business was being conducted on it.
katymine @ 16
The thing is, it is absolutely clear from the emails that we already have that important government (read, People’s) business was being done from that server, particularly as it relates to this specific scandal. That simple fact makes the acquisition of those emails urgent and necessary. And as far as firestorms go, well, these gangsters asked for it, didn’t they? Yes, it is easy to commit the perfect crime if youre in charge of the investigation, but theyre not in charge of the investigation anymore. And I think we’re all about to find out just exactly how very, deeply stupid Karl Rove really is.
Ann in AZ @ 22
Got it. Wow.
Why does anyone bother to argue about whether Karl should be under oath when he testifies before congress? The only answer we should give is: Rove has already amply and repeatedly demonstrated in the Plame case that he cannot be trusted to tell the truth when not under oath Period.
I’m curiuos about this DOJ/WH liason who has suddenly taken a leave of absence. A little voice is whispering to me that the timing here is suspicious-but not for the obvious reason. Has it occured to anyone else that her (?) disappearence might be a red herring designed to send the hounds baying off after her and give the real bad actors at the DOJ and the WH a chance to retool and refine their excuses?
I saw someone interviewed (can’t remember where - sorry) who noted that she was very familiar with Tim Griffin, Rove’s plant in Arkansa. She said that Griffin is “genius in research - opposition research”.
Let’s see… who is the present Democratic frontruner for the presidential nomination? And what state did she come from before magically becoming a New Yorker?
Nothing to see here folks. How could anyone possibly thinks that this thing has Rove-stink?
Alfred Kelgarries @ 5
No problem. I always keep a copy of a dictionary and encyclopedia on my browser when I visit here. It’s a necessity several times a day, and I’m supposed to be good with words. I looked this word up in wiki the first time it was used. Don’t know what I’d do without wiki.
The only thing that will make W surrender Gonzo is the notion that this will shutdown a thorough investigation.
Otherwise, he’s an important firewall between the WH and the law. I look for them to man the ramparts, and not give an inch. Just lie, lie, lie. As always.
But the clock is ticking, and even if W beats the clock and leaves office as scheduled, he should still be hounded for his crimes and put in jail. It’s the only way to restore the office (Nixon got away, and look what his progeny did with little or no fear).
angie @ 19
Oooh, oooh, OOOOOH! Word Salad Pam Nah Gah Like that nasty woman roughin’ up her boyfriend! (Question: During Pammie’s interviews with Bolton, did he ever take his eyes off her breasts?)
katymine @ 15
Maybe G. Gordon Liddy would be interested in putting together an Ocean’s 11 -type caper with the old Watergate Bunch . . .
This guy is “Soooo… Toast!” However, I think the longer Bush sticks by him, the dirtier his laundry is going to get.
“Fetid togs,” both. Maybe Our Naked Emperor can’t get rid of him? As was speculated on a previous thread, if he gets rid of him, Executive Privilege is out the window.. Does anyone have the facts on this theory of EP’s application for an ex pol?
Eli @ 27
Eli—Don’t do it! You’ve already got a girlfriend.
egregious @ 34
No worries. 60 years of hardcore evil have already worked their magic.
Don’t forget the denial of the correct clearances to the Office of Professional Responsibility (acronym check?) personnel so they couldn’t investigate the NSA program. Didn’t that happen in the DoJ as well?
Also, did you mention the complete lack of an internal investigation into who leaked Plame’s name, even though they loudly promised one?
We need a scorecard, to remind everyone of how many threads left to pull. Down the rabbit hole!
It would be particularly Rovian if the liason were found to be taking time off because she’s undergoing chemo, or even better, on bed rest with a premature labor that the partisan Dems could be accused of hounding the poor woman into- and the reason the DOJ wouldn’t clarify her status is because they were altruistically protecting her privacy.
Ok. Is my imagination too fevered here?
Correction, please.. You mean to say “shred and delete” don’t you?
conniptionfit @ 28
LOL Phoenix Woman.
I watched it twice — talk about smarm and condescension– Bolton was oozing both.
(I heart that Iraqi woman and Tony Benn)
I read all this stuff about how terrible things are and I quite agree. But those of my generation, the boomers, the flower children, the hippies or whatever, perhaps did not teach our children well. So yes, I blame the children of the 60’s, like me, in large measure for the state of things. We who stopped the Vietnam War and Lyndon Johnson, have made rather made a mess of things. Some of us stayed true to our beliefs. So many of us did not. Too many. We dropped the ball. I take responsibilty for my failures. Whither did we go?
katymine @ 16
Yeah, but the key is, was any law broken by trying to dodge the government archiving system? Has that yet been explored? Anybody know? Put the offenders under the kleig lights and let ‘em testify. They’ll melt like the wicked witch of the west.
RICO …. it is a RICO crime
Wiki:
Alfred Kelgarries @ 5
Yupper. I keep thinking of Colin Powell’s nominal underling, the zampolit who kept reining him in during one of his last encounters with the media as SoS. He openly fought with her in front of the reporters — and was gone shortly thereafter. (On edit: Her name was Emily Miller, and I wrote about her here.)
Latest FaBlog: Gerontophilia at the NYT
Assuming Dems win everything in ‘08 will they have the will to undo the Republican criminal enterprise? Even as bombs fall on the bunker, Bush is still signing exec orders to continue to “Stalin-ize” the Federal govt. About a month ago there was an order to assign a political operative to just about every Fed agency down to the smallest sub-unit. One example of the new commissar system was the order that US climate scientists couldn’t talk about Polar Bears or Arctic Ice without first getting approval from the political minders. (I suspect most of these “minders” are “6000 year old earth” christianists and mega-corp. lobbyists. Rooting them out isn’t going to be easy.)
We need a word that updates “denazify” to the current situation in our govt.
Does the Yoonitary Decider have the power to refuse, deny, negate (is quash the word?) a subpoena of his brain - Rove, and his heart - Meyers?
katymine @
43
Well, 10 out of 12 aint bad! RICO!, Rico Suave!
grayslady @ 20
Aren’t there already an inordinate number of judicial openings that have been left unfilled due to their nominees not receiving confirmation? I vaguely remember a figure near or at three digits.
hey, when do the peeps get nuked?
i’ll be check’n back later and i better see some nuked peeps.
I blame the children of the 60’s,
i don’t. kids today don’t think about it because they aren’t facing a DRAFT! which we damn bloody well should have if we are going to continue this FIASCO.
face it, the ESTABLISHMENT won.
I would love for them to be able to link this scandal to all the other illegal activity this administration has been up to. Unfortunately, the Dems don’t have the spine to push the issue.
Steve @ 45
“Americanization”?
Too late, the Peeps were rescued by McGyver. ;-)
Eli @ 52
“Normalize”?
De-neoconification. It doesn’t roll off the tongue, but that’s the best I could come up with.
OT: Uncloaking just long enough to say that FDL has become SUCH a must-read for me, and the contributions of Phoenix Woman and others I know from elsewhere (hi, Eli!) just make it better.
Amazing place.
I really think that Rove et al see the writing on the wall. That if things continue, it will be another Repug bloodbath in 08 with a possible veto proof majority in one or more chamber. Then you add a Democratic President who will appoint their own slate of USA’s and AG … Oh someone like Gov Janet from AZ or Bobby Kennedy Jr, someone who would go for the gold.
Just look at the write up of the Blackwater book over on Kos. The Blackwater families trying to sue the company have Ken Starr working for BW putting the case in front of friendly courts and stonewalling anything.
It is just like Iran/Contra. Get everyone got off either with pardon or appeal, stop any cases against All these bad actors. Unless we can charter a 747 stuffed with all these yahoos and fly them to the Hague for a REAL show trial.
How ’bout just “Clean up”?
Hiya, Sill! Nice to see you here!
Interesting how Sen. Spector today says Gonzales has a lot of explaining to do. Um, excuse me — he’s had a month to start explaining, but the questions just keep piling up.
“I’m getting a whole “discussion off the books” feeling from these people that needs some serious explanation.”
“How, exactly, is an e-mail discussion waged in non-governmental e-mails protected by Executive Privilege?”
katymine @ 8
Sneaking the little clause into the Patriot act that allows them to put USA’s into office without Senate confirmation leads me to believe that the Administration is well aware that they have committed crimes and are trying to pre-emptively do just what you said: Stack the deck with their people to avoid prosecution. It will be hard for them to now make the case they didn’t realize they were doing anything wrong, or they can’t remember, or whatever other bullshit lies they come up with to avoid paying the piper.
ps @ 59
This confirms my expectation that Arlen will do everything he possibly can to sabotage Leahy’s investigation.
conniptionfit @ 38
I certainly wouldn’t put it past them to have laid this sort of trap!
Excellent post! I’ve also been contemplating the wisdom, or lack thereof, of demanding the AG’s resignation. It’s not enough and should not be allowed as a gesture to cauterize this wound to the resident.
The pressure should be kept on ALL OF THEM for the succinct reasons you’ve outlined here. It’s ALL connected. We must keep the spotlight on them and not allow these snakes to slither away into the night.
TheOtherWA @ 55
“Re-Constitutionalize”
Don’t forget this small item…. which is of course part of this larger issue.
It’s all about getting paid for BushCo and, indeed, the rest of us too as this this Matt Stoller post shows all too clearly.
We need to set our sights a lot higher than ‘just’ getting rid of the current cabal of incompetent thugs.
It’s the folks that put them in place to fuck us over that we’ve got to eliminate.
Yeah, eliminate.
Cleaning these augean stables is gonna be one long and difficult job. Talk about destroying the village in order to save it!
George F. Will seems to think we need anger management in today column so I just left a comment on his front door step:
Mr. Will,
How many of your family members have been serving in Afghanistan or Iraq? This war without end the the current administration has embarked upon strains the relationship between the citizens of this country and the leadership. My sister-in-law cried when she got news that her only son was safely back from Afghanistan. She said she really didn’t understand the stress she was under until that time.
You may have the right as a citizen of this country to voice your opinion but I would say sir, you don’t have the right to belittle others the right to express theirs. Your contempt for the rest of us is unpardonable.
George “Shut the F.” Will
Speaking of authoritarian theocracies.. Check this out from the voice of the LDS.. The Salt Lake Tribune (thanks to TPM) at..
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5517136
I would LOVE to have him defend this in front of a Senate panel.. Just love it! Probably sees nothing wrong with starting a new Zampolit corps, either.. with a creed of “You’re either for us, or agin’ us” chant by the gun wielding Zampolits looking for horns behind every non-believer..
I just love the Mormon taint to all this… This will do NIT Romney about as much good as getting a case of crabs in his and his spouses undies…
What’s that itch, Nit… er, I mean Mit…?
1,466 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND..
Citizen phoenix woman and the Firepup patriots:
This post should have a daily re-posting to keep it as the structure or skeleton to hang all the rest of the fascist crimes that will inundate us everyday from here on out. Well done sister…but I would like to use this post to rock one of my hobby horses.
We need to begin the chorus for impeachment investigations no matter how time consuming or how late in the election cycle it gets. “The grand Unified Theory” gives us the argument framework to do what wasn’t done in the past constitutional crises of 1866 (Johnson impeachment), 1877 (presidential election and the end of reconstruction), 1975 (Nixon Pardon) and Iran Contra…we must use the opportunity of impeachment of the entire Bush executive to purge fascism from our politics, root and branch.
It won’t be enough to just win the ‘08 elections and extend Democratic majorities if we don’t kill Haliburton, Carlyle, corporatist power in the Democratic Party and delegitimize every Bush fascist apparatchik by thowin ‘em in jail. We also need war profiteering trials and war crimes investigations. AND we need to start callin’ everything Republican and everything associated with the Bush administration as fascist.
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION WE DO IT FOR THE CHILDREN
katymine @ 16
This where strong and forecful messaging comes in. The game has changed.
In say 2003 b.b. (before blogs) the message from the Democrats was weak, the traditional media was spellbound due to koolaid and cocktail weenies, and the Repugs controlled the media.
In 2007 a.b. (after blogs), the conversation is changing. Yes it would be a shit storm from the mighty wurltizler, however the progressive blogs would turn on the fun and send the shit storm right back at them.
Eli @ 62
Poor Arlen. He’s trying so hard to help Gonzo save himself, but Gonzo keeps saying things that even Specter can’t countenance — such as when Gonzales falsely claimed that there was no right to Habeas Corpus in the Constitution.
RICO …. more Wiki info:
Ok… lets see… when stats show that 80% of their investigations were against Democrats
Eli @
7
As others have said (I believe including yourself) he’s just p*ssed all over that ol’ piece of paper we used to call a Constitution. kinda hard to preserve it with all that foulness soaking in these days.
angie @
19
Wow! Fresh air. I’ve never seen Bolton taken down like that.
Phoenix Woman @ 71
Arlen will happily denounce even the smallest of administration offenses, and happily enable even the largest.
It’s his way.
Millineryman @ 71
Hell, if the RNC is part of this criminal enterprise then I say they go down the toilet too. They supported the phone jamming in New Hampshire, blocking voters from the polls. Ya, they need to go down hard!
The project is laid out here in One Party to Rule Them All by Hamburger and Edsall. But, even they do not appreciate the levels of corruption and violence that these people have prepared to unleash, if necessary, to prevent a loss of the presidency in 2008. Their Praetorian guard is organized. Massive detention centers have been built. The President has acquired the authority to nationalize the National Guard of each and every state at his pleasure. The President can now compel citizens to spy on other citizens — see the anonymous op-ed in today’s WaPo.
Somebody (sorry can’t remember who) on the net pointed out only yesterday the concurrence between the nine or so states that Rove declared to be crucial to the 2008 election and the jurisdictions of the fired USA’s. What better way to cover a stolen election, que no? As Rove claims, “you have your math, I hve mine.”
katymine @
16
They shouldn’t be using private servers to conduct government bidness. I don’t recall the law but there is one I believe that bans such use. Of course, what’s a few more broken laws with this crowd?
DING DING DING! We have a winner!
AZ Matt @77 I agree.
Take ‘em down. And hopefully MacGuyver will be busy tending to the Peeps to rescue them.
The whole deal here is that unlike every other scandal, the Bushies didn’t close ranks fast enough, and they misunderestimated the speed of Congressional oversight. The DoJ wasn’t used to dealing with actual oversight. They were used to dealing with the GOP Congress.
Specifically, Diane Feinstein started asking questions about Carol Lam. And it went all downhill from there. Josh Marshall plowed into the muck and got his brass ring, and while the A team of Rove and company were putting out the fires from Walter Reed and the Libby trial, that left Kyle Sampson in charge of the whole USA firing thing.
Problem is, Kyle Sampson ain’t no Karl Rove. He was found wanting on the whole cleanup and coverup AND he was the first guy to get sacked. That left the Bushies wide open.
The question is will Bush get rid of Gonzo before the burnthrough claims Rover? And secondly, if Gonzo gets the Fredo treatment and is fired “for performance reasons”, what’s left to stop him from saying where the bodies are buried?
That’s why he’s still around. Which will do more damage, Gonzo’s boot at this late date with nothing left to lose or risking Rove under oath in the dock?
charley 50
i don’t. kids today don’t think about it because they aren’t facing a DRAFT! which we damn bloody well should have if we are going to continue this FIASCO.
The fact that there has been no draft, thus far (and a media that faithfully disseminates pure propaganda) has been the linchpin that has prevented Bushco’s unravelling. This got them close enough to 50 percent of the vote in 2004 to steal the election the second time. No sacrifice has been required of the cheetos-munching 101st fighting keyboard commandos and other pro-war types not willing to lay their own *ss on the line.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 41
OK kiddo, why is it always incumbent on our generation? Nobody died and left us the boss. It’s time for another generation to educate themselves about government and war and to pick up that ball. Yes we are at fault, but no more than any other citizen that has let this happen. Our greatest sin was not educating the younger generations enough about the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, checks and balances, and the consequences of losing the above. But it’s their turn now! Talk to the children, your grandchildren, etc., just as those in the greatest generation talked to us about the horrors of war. We are becoming old and somewhat feeble, and we should not be relied upon to save the world now. Those that are going to live in it for years to come, the college students, the young families, need to step up, just as they did when we were young. No I am not advocating that we back down one inch, just that we must be on our own crusade to inspire the younger generation to save their own world.
The Bush Administration is fighting tooth and nail to keep this card in place. If it falls, the whole house comes down.
Long live the Republic.
Bringing this forward from bottom of previous thread…
Since the Senate majority is still too slim to support impeachment (even if articles could be gotten through the House - but without any Republic support, would just be construed as “partisan payback for Clinton”), then the best option is ongoing investigations/subpoenas, the whole mishegas.
Keep hammering on rule of law and oversight. Let the various committees of the Senate and House pick a day of the week and do their thing so that there is something every day. Keep the lights shining on the cockroaches and keep ‘em scurrying.
Even if the Chimpy claims EP, it can be worked around. I believe Leahy and Schumer and Waxman have a number of disgruntled career lawyers and civil servants who are ripsh*t over the last six years.
There is no way that the Republics can gum away ALL the crap they’ve been floating and outside of the 30%, the rest of the country has been catching on. Frame the talking points from the left in a reasonable, deliberate tone. Let Brit Hume, Rust Limpballs, Hannity, O’Lielly et al froth at the mouth, slap ‘em with the truth, and we can pretty much assure the Republic scumsuckers will be mostly irrelevant for the next generation.
My $.02
Bushie-gate!
Says it all:
– This president longs for a legacy; here’s one with his name.
– He loves using nicknames; let’s return the favor.
– It’s condescending; gosh, just — again — returning the favor.
Bushie-gate!
Bushie-gate!
Bushie-gate!
People only lie to cover up what they perceive as an action worse than the lie.
Bushie-gate!
Bushie-gate!
Bushie-gate!
Start answering the phone that way — add a little fun to your day.
OK, time to cut back on the caffeine.
if you know the Abunocchio! of life, you can live with any bovine scatology
Great post, but I suggest that we try to avoid reinforcing in the broader, ex-FDL, world the meme that “The key, I believe, is Karl Rove.” At one level this is undoubtedly true, but I fear that this often-expressed sentiment leaves Bush off the hook. We need to rememember that American voters (at least a near plurality) voted for Bush and Cheney. Most people are not political junkies and even today probably do not know or really care who Karl Rove is. In a few years we don’t want to find people adoring that nice-man-George-Bush-who-was-just-betrayed-by-his-advisors. To avoid having a Saint George put alongside Saint Ronnie, we need to ensure that the ultimate responsibility for the crimes of the Bush administration is placed where it belongs, on George W. Bush. Our message must be that Bush lied us into the Iraq War. Bush failed to protect and restore New Orleans. Bush illegally corrupted the U.S. attorneys and the Department of Justice. All these other guys are just his agents.
I am not disputing that Rove and Cheney are the masterminds behind these crimes, but we need to demolish the abililty of the Republicans, or any political party, to nominate and elect a pleasant-seeming front man while they operate their criminal enterprises in the background.
Ron @ 78
McClatchy, by way of Digby.