We now know, based on the evidence that has surfaced in the past several months, that the presidential vote in November of 2008 is what lies at the heart of the U.S. Attorneys scandal. Rove has a long history of winning elections by any means necessary; one of his main ways of doing this is to encourage the removal of hundreds of thousands of likely Democratic voters from the precinct rolls in key states, by illegal or unethical means. Usually, these voters are simply bumped from the rolls; most of them live in vulnerable minority areas.
In addition, many of the fired U.S. attorneys in those key states were leaned on by Rove and his minions to file criminal charges against individuals or groups registering new Democratic voters and to do so before the elections. It didn't matter if the charges were unsubstantiated or ridiculous -- file the charges, smear the Dems and their supporters prior to the balloting, make them spend hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting the indictments, scare away wavering voters who might vote Democratic, etc. For example, New Mexico's U.S. Attorney David Iglesias says he was fired because he wouldn't file what he called "bogus" charges of "voter fraud" before the election.
As the U.S. attorneys scandal unravels, the situation inside Alberto Gonzales' Department of Justice has been revealed to be even more outrageous: The DOJ, it turns out, is basically run as an arm of the White House's political operation: inquiring about ideology and party affiliation (which is illegal) before appointing applicants to judicial jobs, staffing the Civil Rights Division with those antagonistic to civil rights and thus not following the law, etc. And other government agencies are similarly infected as well, holding workplace seminars on ways to aid "our candidates," which is also illegal, etc.
It's abundantly clear that Gonzales will not resign and will not be fired; he's the consiglieri in the White House mob, knowing too much about the various illegalities to be cut loose. The House should initiate impeachment hearings of Gonzales ASAP.
EPILOGUE: CHENEYBUSH MUST GO SOONEST
Likewise, Bush and Cheney will not resign. They are prepared to sacrifice thousands of more troops in Iraq -- and perhaps put them in danger over Iran as well -- in order to further their imperial policies in the greater Middle East. During the next year and a half of their scheduled tenure, the damage CheneyBush can do is immense: further destruction of constitutional protections, fomenting more terrorist anger, ruining America's reptuation even more through aggressive wars and through other policies as well; even on global warming, for example, Bush is unwilling to do anything meaningful, other than to delay and delay until he leaves office.
The only way out of this reckless nightmare endangering America's national security is to initiate impeachment hearings at once against Cheney and Bush. Once their "high crimes and misdemeanors" are laid out as evidence for all the public to see, it's conceivable that many Republicans will join the effort to convict, if for no other reason than to hang on to their Congressional positions in the 2008 election. It's won't be done maliciously -- it's just politics. #
Bernard Weiner, Ph.D., has taught government & international relations at universities in California and Washington, worked as a writer-editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, and currently co-edits The Crisis Papers (http://www.crisispapers.org). To comment: crisispapers@comcast.net .
First published by The Crisis Papers and Democratic Underground 6/5/07. www.crisispapers.org/essays7w/scandals.htm
Bernard Weiner, Ph.D. in government & international relations, has taught at universities in California and Washington, worked for two decades as a writer-editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, and currently serves as co-editor of The Crisis Papers (www.crisispapers.org).
It is a damn shame that the morons running this debacle will not stop and consider the consequences of their actions. They will sacrifice anyone or anything to keep control of this mess they have made of the Untied States and our covenant with our citizens, but in a way it is our fault . About only 20% of the citizens are paying attention. The Rethugs are like a gang of shoplifters that come into a store and start knocking stuff off the counters and as the personnel struggle to put the merchandise back they are lining their pockets and robbing the till. The more I read about the Rethugs the more alarmed I become. There is no segment of governance they have not f--ked up. Human life and suffering mean nothing to them except to distract us from the thievery. Dead and wounded soldiers, dead and wounded Iraqis are just the cost of doing their business. Cheney needs to be impeached and Rove needs to be arrested and Bush impeached. What the hell is Congress waiting for, is the body count not high enough? Yes this is politics and it is time we stood up for the rule of law and the politics of the people.
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cluelessfl (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 184 comments)
on Wednesday, June 6, 2007 at 9:27:01 AM
1 comments
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