On Thursday, we had the Alice-in Wonderland spectacle of Uberfuhrer—I mean Attorney General– Alberto Gonzalez testifying that, although he “takes responsibility” for New Mexico U.S. Attorney Jefferey Iglesias being put on the firing list, he has no idea who put Iglesias’ name there. Like his famous “I can’t remember” testimony before a Senate committee last month, this put the Torturer-General’s legal skills to the test—how well can you hide the truth under oath without perjuring yourself?
The truth appears to be that the Republicans have politicized the DOJ and attempted to use it as a tool to ensure a “permanent Republican majority.” This has been well reported; I hardly feel I have to go into it here, except to say that our Truth In Strange Places Award this month goes to Representative Adam Putnam, the third-ranking Republican in the House, who told a Florida newspaper, “I had been saying all along that his (Gonzales’) future was in his own hands by his testimony before the Senate committee and I don’t think he did well….His credibility is so severely damaged with the committee that he is no longer able to advance the president’s programs before Congress….This has to be affecting the efficiency and the morale of the people who work for the Department of Justice. Clearly they are distracted by all of this and by the continued investigations and committee requests. The country deserves an attorney general with the credibility to perform this extremely difficult job, and it is now time for fresh leadership.”
Well, we’re probably not going to get that, because Bush knows that, lily livered as the Democrats are, they are not going to give him a pass on a new Attorney General. They’ll keep funding the Iraq war and make sure Iraq’s oil is turned over to American companies. They’ll support attacking Iran. They’ll pass a watered-down revision of the Helping America Vote Republican Act that doesn’t really change anything, and refuse to investigate the REAL vote fraud cases that the DOJ is ignoring. And they won’t impeach Bush and Cheney. So Gonzalez is likely here to stay. He’s the cornerstone of Rove’s plan to stonewall the Democrats, which, alas, will probably work. Great job, Bertie.
Grateful Dead, “New Speedway Boogie”
note: ”new,” “speedway,” and “boogie” are all separate links!
