There, I said it.
Ideally, my first choice is Cheney, but I don’t want to settle for any less than Gonzales and/or Rove.
Just because Rove has resigned to try and fix the 2008 elections, um, “spend time with family” doesn’t mean that there is real cause for celebration here. As I discussed last night with Jeff Huber and thereisnospoon on our blog talk radio show, this move only frees him up to do the one thing that he has dedicated the past 25+ years to doing. And since we all know how he, Alberto Gonzales, Hans von Spakovsky, Tim Griffin and the other fine upstanding republicans have worked as hard as possible to subvert the election process for the foreseeable future (remember that “permanent republican majority”?), it is all the more imperative that Senator Pat Leahy follows through as I am sure he will in order to keep Rove in the legal hot water that he so very deserves to be in for as long as possible.
Resignation and leaving this Administration should not alleviate the responsibility for all of the actions undertaken while part of this administration. It is nice to look back and see republican party leaders and administration officials such as Bill Frist, Harriet Miers, Tom DeLay, John Ashcroft, Andy Card, Rick Santorum and now Dennis Hastert no longer leading the sleazy charge to raid the Treasury and keep this country speeding over a cliff. But it will be nicer to see some true accountability.
On one hand, the mere fact that Alberto Gonzales is still the face of this administration with respect to, well just about everything, is enough to remind many many Americans just why, no matter how frustrated they are with the actions of some Democrats in Congress, the alternative on the other side of the aisle is far worse. On the other hand, this is a man who authorized torture, rendered the Geneva Conventions “quaint”, lied through his teeth to Congress on many occasions, was either heavily involved in a potentially very illegal political purge of US attorneys (his own Department, mind you) and therefore lying about more than we already know or is so out of touch that he has no business being in the position he is in, and is, in the words of members of his OWN party – “simply not credible”.
He should go. And it should be painful – embarrassing not only to him, but to anyone that supported him. The fact that impeachment hearings on him are not yet underway is a question that I can not find any reasonable or rational answer for. And I have thought long and hard about this. I’ll also take perjury charges against Sara Taylor, von Spakovsky (always good for an FEC Commissioner to lie before Congress as well) and anyone else who did so.
After all, if I lied to Congress, or under oath, or in court, or in an affidavit, I don’t think there would be much sympathy for my lies.
I have no clue how Rove slithered his way out of an indictment by Fitzgerald (not that his sentence wouldn’t have been commuted as well), but his ignoring the subpoenas (I assume they will be ignored) should result in inherent contempt. Ditto for Harriet Miers. And anyone else who is hiding behind a laughable claim of Executive Privilege. If that is what Fielding and Addington and Bush want to do, fine. Let them do it and let the courts decide while Miers and Rove are sitting in custody.
These people can not be let off the hook. As much as I would like to see Bush impeached, I do see the other side of the argument here in terms of viability and time it would take to do this. And I am firmly of the belief that there are more than a few things that he has done since January alone that could very well result in impeachment charges.
But Gonzales? Rove? Miers? These people are inextricably linked to Bush and the administration anyway. The stain of being impeached that we want to see Bush be painted with would be close to as effective if these three people were held to account in a meaningful way. If we talk about the “rule of law”, then these people CAN NOT escape consequences.
It would restore faith in “the process” to many people on a number of levels. It would restore faith and confidence in the Democratic Party to the extent that people are getting a bit wary. Heck, it would even be a smart and effective political move for the Congressional Democrats – especially if it was used against these three people. And most importantly, it would restore faith in the fact that the “unitary executive theory” is one that should be put out to pasture once and for all.
Especially with the declaration that Iran is basically a terrorist organization, the FISA law was expanded yet again and the White House is going to be (re)writing Petraeus’ report to show that the Iraqis are actually holding hands and dancing in the streets as opposed to bombing each other and bombing our troops.
The wind needs to be taken out of their sails. The fact that there is even wind or sails at this point is mind boggling. This is yet another accountability moment. People need to pay.
I want to see it. The country wants to see it. The country needs to see it.