A Craven Congress
Posted on
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
by Gary A. Ballard
The Senate has disappointed me once again. We've now had months and months of hearings on the US Attorney firing scandal, including a clueless stooge testifying to his lack of recall about everything to do with his job, a turncoat Jesus-freak "lawyer" pleading the Fifth while showing almost complete ignorance of the law, and story after story painting the whole thing as a political purge by the White House. And yet the Senate still will not exert even the most basic oversight on this government. Today, Senate Republicans, may of whom have called for Attorney General Gonzales' resignation, voted to block a resolution expressing no-confidence in the AG. Yes, a non-binding slap on the wrist can't even be voted on for fear of political retribution.
It's time for this Congress to get some goddamn sack.
My own Senator, Trent Lott, opened his festering gob to offer this gem of Constitutional ignorance.
Actually, Trent, it IS the Congress' job to hold forth on a member of the President's Cabinet when that member is breaking the fucking law. When that Cabinet member has lied to Congress, dissembled, obfuscated and flip-flopped on his and his subordinates' roles in an obviously illegal way, it is exactly the Congress' job to punish that sort of shit. Not doing this job for four years is what lost the Republicans their majority in 2006, it's what got people killed in New Orleans during Katrina, and it's what continues to get our soldiers killed needlessly in Iraq.
The craven nature of politics in this Senate is astounding. This paragraph should get the blood boiling.
That list is full of pussies, if you'll forgive my profanity. That list is full of people who think it's acceptable to say Gonzales should be fired, but won't grow enough of a pair to actually vote on a resolution that puts that belief on Congressional record. Lieberman shows that he is a liar, having pledged to vote with the Democratic caucus despite his "Independent" status. He has consistently voted in lockstep with this White House.
But the worst offenders of craven cowardice in this Senate seem to be coming out of the Democratic majority.
I think it's time the Democrats stop gently nudging the intransigent rock that is President Bush and his cabal, and starts swinging a John Henry-sized sledgehammer. It's time the impeachment process was begun on a great number of administration heavyweights, not the least of which is Gonzales. He has been caught lying to Congress on multiple occasions. One such lie was the claim that he had not spoken with any of the upcoming witnesses in the hearings beforehand. Monica Goodling stated under oath that he did meet with her, to "comfort" her. He's consistently said one thing in press conferences, only to change the story in front of Congress when new evidence came to light. Perhaps the Democrats lack the votes to impeach, or do not want to be seen as the Congressional Republicans were seen after the useless Clinton impeachment.
The difference, of course, is that while Clinton's crime was certainly impeachable, it lacked the true weight of what most reasonable people would consider "high crimes and misdemeanors." If a politically-motivated purge of the nation's prosecutorial vanguard isn't a high crime, I don't know what is. Perhaps lying to the public to get us into a costly, unnecessary war. Maybe even giving good ole boy contracts to corrupt corporate campaign contributors then watching as those contractors defraud the government out of billions of dollars. One might even say that letting an entire major metropolitan area drown while giving sweetheart contracts to contributors who fail to even deliver ice to the evacuees would be a high crime worthy of impeachment.
But in order for that to happen, this Senate, this entire Congress is going to have to grow a pair. You were elected to clean up the shitpool that is the Bush government, by whatever Constitutional means are available. The clock is ticking. Don't waffle about vote counts, don't let the threat of an inevitable veto forestall your efforts. You know the President is going to use every tool at his disposal, including the extralegal ones he makes up on the fly, to cover his own ass. So stop throwing spitballs, and start lobbing Constitutional grenades.
You have the backing of the Constitution and of at least 65% of the American people. Get to work.
Update: Here is a list of those Republicans who did vote against the filibuster, as well as a listing of presidential candidates who did not even vote. Obama, Dodd and Biden didn't even show up to vote, which sorely disappoints me.
It's time for this Congress to get some goddamn sack.
My own Senator, Trent Lott, opened his festering gob to offer this gem of Constitutional ignorance.
Whatever Gonzales may or may not deserve, some Republicans said, it's not the Senate's job to hold forth on a member of the president's Cabinet.
"This is a nonbinding, irrelevant resolution proving what? Nothing," said Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record), R-Miss. "Maybe we should be considering a vote of no confidence on the Senate or on the Congress for malfunction and an inability to produce anything."
Actually, Trent, it IS the Congress' job to hold forth on a member of the President's Cabinet when that member is breaking the fucking law. When that Cabinet member has lied to Congress, dissembled, obfuscated and flip-flopped on his and his subordinates' roles in an obviously illegal way, it is exactly the Congress' job to punish that sort of shit. Not doing this job for four years is what lost the Republicans their majority in 2006, it's what got people killed in New Orleans during Katrina, and it's what continues to get our soldiers killed needlessly in Iraq.
The craven nature of politics in this Senate is astounding. This paragraph should get the blood boiling.
Among the Republicans voted for the no-confidence resolution were four who
had already called for a new attorney general: Sens. John Sununu of New
Hampshire, Gordon Smith of Oregon, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Norm
Coleman of Minnesota. Joining them were Specter and Maine Republicans
Olympia Snowe and Collins.
Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, an independent who often votes with the
Democrats, voted no.
...
Those not voting included Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a presidential candidate who had called for Gonzales'
resignation.
That list is full of pussies, if you'll forgive my profanity. That list is full of people who think it's acceptable to say Gonzales should be fired, but won't grow enough of a pair to actually vote on a resolution that puts that belief on Congressional record. Lieberman shows that he is a liar, having pledged to vote with the Democratic caucus despite his "Independent" status. He has consistently voted in lockstep with this White House.
But the worst offenders of craven cowardice in this Senate seem to be coming out of the Democratic majority.
Short of impeachment, Congress has no authority to oust a Cabinet member, but Democrats were trying anew to give him a push.
I think it's time the Democrats stop gently nudging the intransigent rock that is President Bush and his cabal, and starts swinging a John Henry-sized sledgehammer. It's time the impeachment process was begun on a great number of administration heavyweights, not the least of which is Gonzales. He has been caught lying to Congress on multiple occasions. One such lie was the claim that he had not spoken with any of the upcoming witnesses in the hearings beforehand. Monica Goodling stated under oath that he did meet with her, to "comfort" her. He's consistently said one thing in press conferences, only to change the story in front of Congress when new evidence came to light. Perhaps the Democrats lack the votes to impeach, or do not want to be seen as the Congressional Republicans were seen after the useless Clinton impeachment.
The difference, of course, is that while Clinton's crime was certainly impeachable, it lacked the true weight of what most reasonable people would consider "high crimes and misdemeanors." If a politically-motivated purge of the nation's prosecutorial vanguard isn't a high crime, I don't know what is. Perhaps lying to the public to get us into a costly, unnecessary war. Maybe even giving good ole boy contracts to corrupt corporate campaign contributors then watching as those contractors defraud the government out of billions of dollars. One might even say that letting an entire major metropolitan area drown while giving sweetheart contracts to contributors who fail to even deliver ice to the evacuees would be a high crime worthy of impeachment.
But in order for that to happen, this Senate, this entire Congress is going to have to grow a pair. You were elected to clean up the shitpool that is the Bush government, by whatever Constitutional means are available. The clock is ticking. Don't waffle about vote counts, don't let the threat of an inevitable veto forestall your efforts. You know the President is going to use every tool at his disposal, including the extralegal ones he makes up on the fly, to cover his own ass. So stop throwing spitballs, and start lobbing Constitutional grenades.
You have the backing of the Constitution and of at least 65% of the American people. Get to work.
Update: Here is a list of those Republicans who did vote against the filibuster, as well as a listing of presidential candidates who did not even vote. Obama, Dodd and Biden didn't even show up to vote, which sorely disappoints me.
Labels: Bush Administration, Fascism, Government Corruption
posted by Gary A. Ballard @ 9:03 AM
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