Abu Gonzales resigns

The end of BushWorld?

Abu Gonzales the Torture Guy is gone from the Justice Department. See Attorney General Gonzales resigns CNN.com 08/27/07 and news reports all over the place.

In his resignation statement, he included the oddly Oedipal comment, "Even my worst days as attorney general have been better than my father's best days."

Gonzales was a key finger in the dike for the Cheney-Bush administration. He was not only willing to thoroughly politicize his department, he was more specifically willing to block prosecutions against administration officials, even over defying Congressional subpoenas.

Also, now that the Democrats are in control of Congress, the approval process for a new Attorney General is a potential minefield. Josh Marshall is even picking up indications that Bush may try a "recess appointment" of a new AG to avoid the approval process (Recess Appointment TalkingPointsMemo.com 07/27/07. He writes:

Just as we saw with the 'pardon [S]cooter' movement, the word seems already to have gone out to the folks on the right to start preparing the ground for just such a move by the president. I've already heard a few just this morning saying it would be the right thing for the president to do.

The White House has become a political bunker. They literally made a decision that they could disregard laws and disregard Congressional oversight. Now their public support has collapsed. Even maintaining the support they do have has become dependent on no new major deterioration in the military situation in Iraq, a matter over which their control is limited. The leadership of the Justice Department has disintegrated.

Tom Tomorrow this week presents a scenario for what should happen, but won't.

Reading the Cheney-Bush Kremlinology, Laura Rozen at her War and Piece blog for 07/27/07 picks up a diplomatic nuance:

Unlike the Rove resignation, where Bush and Rove appeared together, Gonzales and Bush are delivering their statements in separate appearances - a sign, perhaps, of the circumstances under which he is leaving, that he was fired.

There will be attempts, I'm sure, to find some common source for the network of incompetence and criminality that has been some prominent in the this administration. I'm not sure there is one. But if there is, I'm guessing that "Dick Cheney" is probably about as close to being it as one could get.

I agree with Glenn Greenwald (The Democrats' responsibility in the wake of Gonzales' resignation Salon 07/27/07) about the basics of the challenge this presents to the Democrats in Congress. They have to fight for the Constitution and governmental integrity on this one. No excuses:

No matter what, they must ensure that Gonzales' replacement is a genuinely trustworthy and independent figure.

That means that Democrats must not confirm anyone, such as Michael Chertoff, who has been ensconced in the Bush circle. Instead, the DOJ and the country desperately need a completely outside figure who will ensure that the prosecutorial machinery operates independently, even if - especially if - that means finally investigating the litany of Executive branch abuses and lawbreaking which have gone almost entirely uninvestigated, as well uncovering those which remain concealed.

The standard excuse invoked by Democrats to justify their capitulations - namely, that they cannot attract a filibuster-proof or veto-proof majority to defy the President - will be unavailing here. They themselves can filibuster the confirmation of any proposed nominee to replace Gonzales. They do not need Blue Dogs or Bush Dogs or any of the other hideous cowards in their caucus who remain loyal to the most unpopular President in modern American history. The allegedly "Good Democrats" can accomplish this vital step all on their own. They only need 40 Senate votes to achieve it.

Greenwald's point is dead-on. When the Dems confirm one of Bush's cronies, he turns out to be a Bush crony. Surprise, surprise. They have to take the bull by the horns on this one. Even if that means fighting a recess appointment. Which means telling the Big Pundits stewing in the juices of High Broderism to kiss off when they bitch and moan about how "partisan" the Democrats are being.

Tags: alberto gonzales

The state of our "press corps"

Abu Gonzales the Torture Guy and his most loyal supporter

Liberal Big Pundit Mark Shields and conservative Big Pundit David Brooks are both certain that the public isn't concerned that our Attorney General Abu Gonzales is defying subpeonas and generally making a joke out of the law. From Obama, Clinton Face Off; Gonzales Testimony Challenged PBS Newshour 07/27/07:

MARK SHIELDS: I do think that it's an issue that has risen to a level of far more intensity here in Washington than it has in the country. I don't get a sense that it's crossed over beyond the Beltway and that Americans in Earl Pomeroy's district in North Dakota are exercised about it...

JIM LEHRER: Has it crossed over to you, David?

DAVID BROOKS: I guess it hasn't. I was just out on the campaign trail, and certainly nobody is asking about this subject. (my emphasis)

From Gonzales: Mr. Popularity by Will Thomas TPM Muckraker 07/31/07:

And if Sen. Specter (R-PA) is still on the fence about where to go next, he might consider this: 70% percent of those polled [by SurveyUSA] – including 49% of Republicans- think that Congress is right to investigate Gonzales.

Meanwhile, A new Rasmussen survey of likely voters found that 41% of Americans think Gonzales should resign. That number has been holding steady for the last few surveys, with 43% and 39% answering the same way in April and March, respectively. (my emphasis)

As Bob "the Daily Howler" Somberby says: Our press corps. If they didn't exist, you couldn't invent them.

Tags: alberto gonzales, bush administration, david brooks, mark shields

John Dean on Abu Gonzales

John Dean, who has had up-close experience with Republican officials who think they can roll over the law and the Constitution, delivered a harsh verdict on our current Attorney General, who is known in the liberal blogosphere as Abu Gonzales, in The Controversy over Curtailing Habeas Corpus Rights: Why It Is a Bad Day For The Constitution Whenever Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Testifies Findlaw.com 01/26/07 (before the current scandal over the firing of US Attorneys broke):

In the history of U.S. Attorney Generals, Alberto Gonzales is constantly reaching for new lows. So dubious is his testimony that he is not afforded the courtesy given most cabinet officers when appearing on Capitol Hill: Congress insists he testify under oath. Even under oath, Gonzales's purported understanding of the Constitution is historically and legally inaccurate, far beyond the bounds of partisan interpretation.

No wonder that with each appearance he makes on Capitol Hill, Gonzales increases his standing as one of the least respected Attorney Generals ever, in the eyes of both Congressional cognoscenti and the legal community. His most recent appearance bordered on the pathetic.

On January 18, Gonzales appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), now the committee's ranking minority member and former chairman, asked him a series of questions. With no wish to be snide, nor less than respectful of the post Gonzales holds, I must confess that watching his testimony makes me deeply uncomfortable. Gonzales does not seem to know when he is making a fool of himself, and I can't tell if he is suffering from empty-suit syndrome or an unhealthy case of hubris.

Whatever the explanation, one thing is clear: Gonzales's latest testimony provided a micro-moment of how the Bush/Cheney Administration does business, and how it plays fast and loose with Americans' fundamental rights. (my emphasis)

Dean has been a perceptive and outspoken critic of the authoritarian takeover of the Republican Party.

In this article, Dean explains who Abu Gonzales is little more than a flack for the Cheney-Bush administration's power grabs. Yet another disgrace to his office in an administration that has seen no shortage of them.

Tags: alberto gonzales, bush administration, john dean