The wild eyed, drooling left has become infected. So has the button down National media. The wonks, the pundits, the mavericks, the sycophants, the toadies, the entire panoply of players, movers and shakers in Washington, D.C. have all been bitten by the scandal bug. And their reaction is shaking the foundations of the Bush presidency.
“Purgegate” – or whatever inane nomenclature with the suffix “gate” is being used these days – has, in the last 24 hours, gone from a scandal focusing on the botched firing of 8 US Attorneys, incoherently defended by the Attorney General and poorly explained by the White House to the juiciest and most dangerous dust up that the Bush Administration has yet faced.
Already it appears that Attorney General Gonzalez is, if not on his way out the door, then certainly is being handed his hat. His extraordinarily incompetent press conference – 9 minutes of stumbling, bumbling, confused and contradictory statements about who did what and when – should have been immediately followed by someone in the White House coming out and clarifying what the incoherent Gonzalez couldn’t make clear; that removing appointees who serve at the pleasure of the President for a variety of reasons is nothing for official Washington to get its panties in a twist about.
But this White House has been in denial since the election about the changed atmosphere in the capitol. Every single statement uttered by an Administration official is going under the microscope whether they like it or not. And those statements will be twisted, pulled, stretched, spindled and mutilated until the absolute worst possible light can be cast upon them. This is what Republicans did for 6 years during the Clinton Administration and it should have come as no surprise to the witless wonders in the White House that the Democrats would employ similar tactics.
Too late. It has now become impossible to inject any sanity into the rush to manufacture this crisis into something it clearly isn’t; a purge of US Attorneys to prevent the investigation of Republicans. What Democrats believed was the clearest case of such malfeasance – the removal of San Diego USA Carol Lam who was investigating Duke Cunningham and the whole rotten CIA-DoD bribery scandal – has now been shown to be much ado about nothing.
It seems that Ms. Lam was targeted for removal (according to the emails released in the last 48 hours) long before she went after Duke Cunningham!
Patterico has a timeline that shows how truly paranoid the scandal mongers are in this case:
Here is the timeline of events:March 2, 2005: Kyle Sampson informs White House Counsel Harriet Miers that Lam is being targeted for possible dismissal. Sampson attaches a list of U.S. Attorneys, dated February 24, 2005. The names of those targeted for dismissal are stricken out. Lam’s name was stricken out, meaning she had been targeted for possible dismissal as of March 2, 2005. You can view Sampson’s March 2, 2005 e-mail at this link.
June 12, 2005 (three months later): Marcus Stern of the San Diego Union-Tribune breaks the news of the Randy Cunningham scandal: “A defense contractor with ties to Rep. Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham took a $700,000 loss on the purchase of the congressman’s Del Mar house while the congressman, a member of the influential defense appropriations subcommittee, was supporting the contractor’s efforts to get tens of millions of dollars in contracts from the Pentagon.†View the story at this link.
Carol Lam was on a list of targeted prosecutors three months before the Randy “Duke†Cunningham scandal ever broke.
And make no mistake: Lam did not investigate Cunningham before Marcus Stern’s article was published. To the contrary, Stern’s article was the only reason Cunningham was prosecuted. One of the lead prosecutors confirmed this in a 2006 interview with the American Journalism Review:
As I said, it’s too late – too late for the facts to catch up with the hysteria. The New York Times is pooh-poohing the idea that some of the USA’s were fired for not aggressively going after voting fraud cases. To the Times, voter fraud is just not important enough an issue to remove a US Attorney:
In its fumbling attempts to explain the purge of United States attorneys, the Bush administration has argued that the fired prosecutors were not aggressive enough about addressing voter fraud. It is a phony argument; there is no evidence that any of them ignored real instances of voter fraud. But more than that, it is a window on what may be a major reason for some of the firings.In partisan Republican circles, the pursuit of voter fraud is code for suppressing the votes of minorities and poor people. By resisting pressure to crack down on “fraud,†the fired United States attorneys actually appear to have been standing up for the integrity of the election system.
I guess thousands of fake voter registration forms submitted by the highly partisan ACORN as well as other frauds perpetrated by the usual suspects at the AFL-CIO, Moveon, and other liberal advocacy groups should be allowed into the system – at least according to the Times. We wouldn’t want to disturb the moronic notion that partisan Republicans use “code” to differentiate between real people and sock puppets who would be capable of voting 5, 10, or 20 times at different polling stations. Democrats never perpetrate these kinds of frauds – just ask the dead people in any Chicago cemetery and they’ll swear on their graves that such shenanigans never take place.
It is this kind of rank paranoia that is driving this scandal. There is not one scintilla of evidence that these firings were carried out for any other reason than those stated in the emails. Carol Lam was extremely lax in prosecuting immigration scofflaws – this in one of the largest entry points for illegals coming into the United States! Why is this not a legitimate reason for kicking her incompetent ass out of office – especially since the Duke Cunningham case wasn’t even on the horizon yet?
A case can be made that the firings done under the auspices of the Patriot Act is a stupid and careless use of that power. But it is not illegal. And perhaps the Democrats (and Republicans) can look at not only that amendment, but others as well where the potential for abuse by the Executive branch is outweighed by any gain we might achieve in countering terrorism. This can be done legislatively and doesn’t need to be tossed about as an example of some deep, dark, conspiracy by the Bushies to destroy the Constitution. That also, is rank paranoia – something we’ve grown tired of over the years coming as it does from the same sources time and time again.
And this latest “revelation” regarding Karl Rove’s role in the scandal is perhaps the most hysterical of all. The netnuts all but have Rove once again frog marched out of the White House and into the pen. But for what?
A sample of what Rove is accused of:
Rove “inquired” about firing US Attorneys…
Rove “raised the idea” of firing Attorneys…
Rove “asked” the Justice Department about firing all 93 prosecutors…
Rove didn’t “approve” or “direct” or “order” anyone to fire anybody. To say otherwise (or intimate it) is a lie.
And when did The Dark Lord make these inquiries? A month ago? Two months?
Why no! It was in January, 2005 which, on most earth calendars, is about 2 months after the 2004 election. Jeralyn Merritt of Talk Left explains why this is perfectly legitimate:
The travesty of the current U.S. Attorney firing scandal is not that U.S. Attorneys are being replaced. That is expected after an election, such as the one in 2004. It’s that it’s happening in 2007.The Administration should have decided in 2004, following Bush’s re-election, which U.S. Attorneys it wanted to replace. In 2005, all U.S. Attorneys were subject to replacement. In fact, all of them are expected to submit their letters of resignation and either be retained or have their resignation letters accepted.
Paul Mirengoff sums up succinctly:
ABC News reports that about-to-be-released emails show that the “idea of firing all 93 U.S. attorneys was raised by White House adviser Karl Rove in early January 2005, indicating Rove was more involved in the plan than the White House previously acknowledged.” Notice how, within a single sentence, an “idea” that apparently never got off the ground becomes a “plan.”Whatever its source, we know that the idea of firing all 93 U.S. attorneys was rejected, and that only eight were let go. Thus, assuming that Rove did raise the idea of a mass firing, it’s not clear why this would (in ABC’s breathless phrase) “put Rove at the epicenter of the imbroglio.” Presumably, “the imbroglio” pertains to what the administration did, not to a course of action it rejected.
UPDATE: You can read the Rove-related emails (none of which was written by Rove) by following a link from the ABC News story. To summarize briefly, they show that Rove asked an aide how the Justice Department planned to proceed with the U.S. attorneys. He mentioned various possibilities, including replacing them all, without making a recommendation or commenting on their merits. The aide raised the matter with Kyle Sampson, Alberto Gonzales’ aide. Sampson said that he would like to replace 15 to 20 percent of them—“the underperforming ones.” In the end, they replaced fewer than 10 percent.
If its a scandal you want to make of this issue, concentrate on the political pressure placed on the New Mexico USA Yglesias by Senator Domenici and others. And the aforementioned use of the Patriot Act to circumvent the advise and consent role of the Senate (pro-forma though it is in the case of approving USA’s). These actions are bad enough and should be investigated with the appropriate Congressional committees using the power of subpoena to find out exactly what happened and then recommend steps to make sure it doesn’t occur again.
But the rest of this hysterical posturing and hyperbolic feeding frenzy is all for show. And yes, I blame the White House and the Justice Department for going about their business as if Republicans still were in the majority and no one would question any action they took or any confused and muddled explanation they make to justify it.
The netnuts will flog this story for all it’s worth, driving the mainstream press to cover every revelation – trivial or important – as if the fate of the Republic were at stake. Too bad they can’t get as exercised about the jihadis and terrorists out there. Now that would be newsworthy.
8:09 am
All you have to do is read the e-mails released by the Administration to see that this is a wholly fabricated scandal. Yes, it has been grossly mishandled by Gonzalez—if I were President I’d have fired him 5 minutes after that press conference—and yes, the mis-use of the Patriot Act (in one case) is improper. But the notion that this was motivated by a desire to stop investigations of Republicans is not merely not supported by the e-mails, it is contradicted by them, as Patterico has shown.
Rick, I would only disagree with one thing in your post. I don’t think paranoia is what motivates these scandal mongers. I think it is hate. These are people who long ago surrendered their ability to think independently—they gave it up under pressures from the educational system, pressures to conform to the leftist worldview that thoroughly permeats every level of our education system—and having surrendered their minds, they are now largely dominated by the emotions of hate and hostility. They are beyond the reach of reason and are unmoved by facts, evidence or data of any sort that contradicts what they need to believe.
These haters need to hate—and the NY Times and other such publications give them a target for their hatred—the Bush administration—and provide endless rationalizations for that hatred in the form of things like this manufactured scandal.
9:11 am
While I think this whole “scandal” is a tempest in a teapot, it is hard to wonder why all the federal prosecuters were not asked for their resignations when the Bush administration first came into office in 2000, as did Presidents Clinton and G.H.W. Bush. The dismissals were politically ill-timed and open to creating an impression of political pressure on the federal judiciary, regardless of intent. Rick, you got this one 100% right.
It appears that history will regard this administration as focused only on re-election, at the expense of leaving any noteworthy legacy or accomplishments. Jimmy Carter with a smirk instead of a sweater.
9:31 am
To be honest, I read the conservative blogs to gauge how much of the dark side of the force the “righties” are employing in their quest to rule the galaxy, but I found a nugget of balance and truth in your recent post about the “purgegate” thing. It read:
“Every single statement uttered by an Administration official is going under the microscope whether they like it or not. And those statements will be twisted, pulled, stretched, spindled and mutilated until the absolute worst possible light can be cast upon them. This is what Republicans did for 6 years during the Clinton Administration and it should have come as no surprise … that the Democrats would employ similar tactics.”
I agree wholeheartedly and whether you meant it in the manner in which I interpreted it, I felt it spoke volumes about the viciousness, hypocrisy and simple ill will both sides have for one another. The left and right, Dems and Repubs are guilty of this, so it is especially disgusting when either side cries foul or acts shocked when it occurs. The different sides, especially in the blogosphere, are so consumed with demonizing the opposition that they have developed tunnel vision and selective memory.
I can’t say all of your other blog posts have been as balanced, but I’m giving credit where credit is due.
9:54 am
Maybe the moonbats should get what they demand, the resignation of Gonzales.
Then the very first act of his replacement can be to fire all the attorneys under the premise of ‘starting with a clean slate’. Then he can go and hire back the effective ones and replace the ones who are not supporting the President’s agenda, and the law, as it should be.
These people think they are so smart. They should be careful about what they ask for. In this case, they are handing Bush the opportunity of a do-over.
10:34 am
The Dems criticized Bush for having no backup plan in case the surge fails. Could this scandal, and consequent diversion of attention from Iraq, be their backup plan for dealing any positive news about the surge?
11:07 am
“I don’t think paranoia is what motivates these scandal mongers. I think it is hate.” It’s been going on for the 6 years this president has been sitting, and went on for the 8 years the previous president was sitting. Partisan politics is being fed by the extremes, who make the most noise and have the most rabid followers. Somebody needs to figure a way out of this mess.
12:07 pm
Dear Fred Fry:
It is not the role of the judicial branch to support OR oppose any administration’s policies. That pesky separation of powers and checks and balances thingys the Founding Fathers insisted on. Oh, and conflating the law with a President’s agenda is not a well thought out idea either.
Fire everyone now? Your ideas are as politically tone deaf as the second term prosecuter firings. Please feel free to call me a moonbat. Namecalling doesn’t negate your errors, however.
12:21 pm
Larry, Rick’s brother:
Great thoughts on the partisan mess that has been created. I am far from an expert, but true civility, compromise and bipartisanship seems to have evaporated after the presidential nominating process was “opened up” to prevent the smoky back room choices of candidates. Truth be told, the experiment in a more open, democratic nominating process has had severe unintended consequences, i.e., facilitating the ugliness of our current political dialogue. While 24 hour news channels, blogs, etc., play a strong role in promoting the fringes to scream loudly and not play well together, perhaps it is time to declare the new nominating process a failure and either move back to the old process or restructure the current system to stem the influence of the extremes on both the right and left. I would like to hear from more knowledgable political people on their ideas to stop the current mess, or are special interests benefitting too much from the current system to ever change it?
1:18 pm
I hereby nominate the title for this ‘scandal’: Purgatory.
Be seeing you!
2:28 pm
Phony Fraud Charges???
You have to have a photo id to board a plane, or cash a check, or fill some prescriptions at the pharmacy counter, or rent a video at Blockbuster. And Georgia, at least, was willing to provide them for free to low income people, and have a van that d…
4:09 pm
Yeah, I agree. All these netnuts are flogging these non-issues. The non-issue about how the troops are treated by the Bush administration at the Veteran’s Administration hospitals is just another example of a non-issue. The troops are all getting first-rate treatment at the VA hospitals coast-to-coast. Anyone who says different is just a netnut.
7:00 pm
Scandal Hysteria Grips the Capitol:
The wonks, the pundits, the mavericks, the sycophants, the toadies, the entire panoply of players, movers and shakers in Washington, D.C. have all been bitten by the scandal bug. And their reaction is shaking the foundations of the Bush presidency….
7:07 pm
It should be apparent to all that this administration has never been competent and will never be competent. Since we seem to agree, wouldn’t it be wise for you all to stop providing aid and comfort to the boobs?
7:29 pm
There is an obvious strategy: Attack, attack, attack. Whatever it is – attack.
And they are right (if morally wrong). Throw enough sh-t at the wall, and some of it sticks, rightly or wrongly. There is an air of desperation to it, leaving dignity and integrity far behind.
Alas, power corrupts – on both sides.
9:33 pm
It’s all beginning to look very ominous for America. I for one am tired of the constant barage of “tempest in teapot” nonstories. The Anna N. Smith nonstory was pounded to death. The left the right. No prayer in schools. No crucifixes at public cemetaries. Homosexual marriages. Homosexual adoption. Midnight porn addicts. Sex in the Oval office. I spilled coffee on my lap, sue McDonalds. A liar(lawyer) who ruined many a doctor and made millions on frivolous lawsuits running for president. And on and on.
Take a step back and observe…America really is on a downward spiral, and it’s source is immorality. The only thing that will help us is a massive attack on American soil plunging us into a depression – gee, this is so much like the fall of Rome
11:53 pm
Scandalgate, the Most Scandalous -Gate to Date
From Right Wing Nuthouse we get an analysis of the latest -gate to hit DC:
The wild eyed, drooling left has become infected. So has the button down National media. The wonks, the pundits, the mavericks, the sycophants, the toadies, the entire panoply o…
8:53 am
[...] –Right Wing Nut House: A case can be made that the firings done under the auspices of the Patriot Act is a stupid and careless use of that power. But it is not illegal. And perhaps the Democrats (and Republicans) can look at not only that amendment, but others as well where the potential for abuse by the Executive branch is outweighed by any gain we might achieve in countering terrorism. This can be done legislatively and doesn’t need to be tossed about as an example of some deep, dark, conspiracy by the Bushies to destroy the Constitution. That also, is rank paranoia – something we’ve grown tired of over the years coming as it does from the same sources time and time again. [...]
10:54 am
Is Bush part of a VAST LEFT_WING conspiracy? What else would explain his bizarre success in undermining conservative values? Why fight back? Why bother to put out an articulate explanaion of the firing of the US Attorneys? Since the war began, Bush has been unable to articulate a clear message of its purpose. A balanced budget? Are you kidding? Illegal immigration? He’s for it! The Patrick Fitzerald/Plame circus? Let Libby take the fall. Harriet Meiers? Dubai Ports? Donald Rumsfield? New entitlements for seniors? A larger national government involvement in local education? Expansion of government powers? The list goes on and on. Bush is not destroying the conservative movement because he is conservative; rather, he is destroying the conservative movement because he’s not.
7:12 am
Excellent analysis, sir! I have added you to my blogroll.
Crush Liberalism
7:13 am
Fired US atty’s didn’t prosecute Dem voter fraud?
According to the Old Gray Hag, asking dead people not to vote and asking that living people only vote once in their respective jurisdictions is “code for suppressing the votes of minorities and poor people”! Little did I know that minorities and poor…
10:16 am
Eye on the Watcher’s Council
As you may know the members of the Watcher’s Council each nominate one of his or her own posts and one non-Council post for consideration by the whole Council. The complete list of this week’s Council nominations is here.
A position on the …
10:36 pm
Watcher’s Council results
Hey! I got second place again! And now… the winning entries in the Watcher’s Council vote for this week are The Contranomics of Global Jihad by Big Lizards, and Four Years In by American Digest. All members, please be sure…