Time For Some New Excuses
The reasons for the attorney firings turns out to be more of the same, piled higher and deeper:
It’s becoming one of the central rules of the U.S. attorney purge scandal: whatever “performance related” complaint the administration claims as the justification for a U.S. attorney’s firing, it’s actually an area of performance for which that U.S. attorney was lauded.In this instance, the White House has said that U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico was removed in part due to his handling of voter fraud complaints. That’s backed up by the numerous instances of powerful New Mexico Republicans (including Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM)) complaining to Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzales, and President Bush about Iglesias’ decision not to prosecute certain cases of voter fraud.
What does this mean? It means that Iglesias must have been lauded by the Justice Department for his handling of voter fraud cases. And not just lauded—but cited as an example for U.S. attorneys across the country.
As I noted in an earelier thread, I have learned that with this administration, you look for the simplest and most base explanation for their behavior. In this case, the memo stating insufficient loyalty will suffice. The prime sin in this administration and with this current GOP (hell, the only real sin) is insufficient loyalty.
Every other excuse for the attorney firings is turning out to be nonsense, and insufficient loyalty seems to be the only reason I can come up with at this point. The only question that remains is how the insufficient loyalty was manifesting itself in such a way that these attornies needed to be removed. Was it the CIA bit? Voter fraud?
I am sure we will find out in a few weeks, after we have gone through several more iterations of official administration excuses.
Andrew
Fear of gay?
Pb
Their timeline is pretty impressive too.
Dreggas
Hell we might even find out in the document dump that’s supposed to happen today, they were going to do it friday but apparently weren’t prepared. Of course that is going to be another bullet in the foot because it won’t disappear down the weekend memory hole.
As for how they weren’t sufficiently loyal just compare the USA in pennsylvania now falling under local media scrutiny with those fired. While Lam was going after Foggo and other admin appointees as well as congress critters and McKay along with Iglesias weren’t caving to republican big-wig pressure to bring up trumped up voter fraud charges and cases against Democrats the current USA in Penn was investigating and indicting only democrats rather than going after Santorum over his “residence” in PA etc.
It’s really easy using, as you and TPM say, the simplest most base reason.
This administration, from day one has been about doing nothing short of running for the lowest common denominator. From appealing to the “base” which is composed of the religious whackjobs and bigots to preying on a base emotion, fear, to everything in between.
As Rove has said, it’s all about the base, in more ways than one.
Bubblegum Tate
Aren’t you forgetting that Clinton Did It Too™, John? I mean, except for the fact that, you know, he didn’t do anything like this, Clinton Did It Too™. That explains everything.
Jon H
I honestly suspect the Arkansas guy was replaced with Rove’s imp in order to run baseless investigations on the Clintons.
That would be the simplest and most base explanation for that.
If Fitzgerald weren’t too prominent to take out, I’m sure another Rove crony would have been emplaced in Illinois, to do opposition research and tactical prosecutions on Obama.
Zifnab
That would be the simplest and most base explanation for that.
I’m going to laugh long and hard when Obama wins the nomination and all that Clinton-hate goes up in hot air. Sure, FOX, talk radio, et al will have no shortage of masdrassa-ranting to spit up, but it just won’t be the same with the right’s favorite voodoo doll target out of the lime-light. It will be fun watching the Thuglicans try to bash the first black man to win the nomination for President.
Elvis Elvisberg
It will be fun watching the Thuglicans try to bash the first black man to win the nomination for President.
It will be more grotesque than fun. Think McCain in South Carolina in 2000 times about a million.
Bubblegum Tate
Oh, agreed. That’s long been a Rove trademark.
Jake
Is “Because we can,” base enough for you?
What disturbs me isn’t just the idea that people were fired for lack of loyalty or that the people who weren’t fired now look like All the King’s Toad Eaters, it is the fact that the Admin. seems completely flummoxed by the fact that they were caught. Even a third-rate thug knows to pull a god-damned panty hose over his head. These clowns are like the cretin who killed the reporter, used his credit cards and then when this dickhead saw himself shopping in CVS on the evening news, went into the police station to complain.
Stupid, psychotic or both? You decide.
jg
Obama has a white baby?
AkaDad
Dan Eggen has a related piece about Carol Lam.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....01263.html
ed
It is time to start the presidential recall election. Oh, I know it is not legal, but I signed a piece of paper saying that I, in my Constitutional role as a citizen of the United States, am not bound by that particular law.
Jon H
“Obama has a white baby?”
Two black children, which is even worse, if you ask the South Carolina GOP.
AkaDad
Think Progress has a better report.
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/.....ite-house/
I see smoke…
Dreggas
Actually to be up with the times Obama would have had to father the children of an illegal Mexican immigrant and those children would have to be gay.
Jake
They’ll just go after his “white half.” A few weeks ago the Balmur Sun ran a front pager on an amateur genealogists’ findings that (SHOCK! HORROR!) one of Obama’s ancestors owned slaves.
It rocked about a 151.8 on the lame-osity scale.
AkaDad
If I find out that Barak attended a party at the Playboy Mansion™, then I have no choice but to vote for Newt Gingrich.
AkaDad
I’m link happy today. Amy Goldstein has a good piece too.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....01077.html
AkaDad
OK that last blockquote was redundant…
Tsulagi
Even in this mess you still find that unique Revenge of the Tards type humor that today’s Pubs embrace and make their own.
The main knock on canned USA Tom McKay repeated by the tardbots is that, like Iglesias, he didn’t bring the weight of the feds on supposedly rampant voter fraud. And of course, known truth tells you that is the only way Dems get into office.
So after a close WA governor’s race in 04 ended with their guy down by just 129 votes, the truth channeling Pubs just knew voter fraud was the cause. But that bastard McKay declined to get involved in a state race. Just as bad, the Republican SecState in WA also didn’t see the outrage.
Not to be deterred, the Pubs brought in their best legal minds, their best Jack Bauer investigators to correct this injustice. Smart, strong, they filed in a conservative county getting a Republican judge. The big boys were bringing their known truths about voter fraud to the light of a courtroom. Months later, the net result?
Seems four convicted felons admitted voting for their guy. Bush too. LOL. The damned activist judge gave evidence more weight than known truths. So, apparently McKay was fired because he didn’t see the brilliance in spending months and millions to lose four votes for one of their own candidates.
Randolph Fritz
“I deeply resent the way this administration makes me feel like a nutbar conspiracy theorist.”
Jimmmm
Annnnnd, Snow just lied again at today’s gaggle:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c.....013131.php
I mean, the’re just not even trying anymore.
Mike S
Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse denied in an e-mail that there was any link.
“We have stated numerous times that no U.S. attorney was removed to retaliate against or inappropriately interfere with any public corruption investigation or prosecution,” he wrote. “This remains the case and there is no evidence that indicates otherwise.”
Well, as long has they have stated numerous times I think we should just leave it at that. It’s not like they have ever lied to us before.
Mike S
Sorry, forgot the link.
Bubblegum Tate
Great post, Tsulagi. The WA race was the Bushbots’ primary “example” of how “Democrats don’t want to prosecture voter fraud because it’s the only way they can get into office.”
Like pretty much everything else that comes spilling out of Bushbots’ mouths, it turns out to be complete horseshit. Well, knock me over with a feather.
Aaron
They wanted to use the AUSA’s as a political hit team. The remainder of the 93 now know that their job come mid 2008 is to make any alegation against democrats, as loudly as possible.
Gonzalez needs to be prosecuted for perjury.
The remaining AUSA’s should all be impeached en-mass.
Tim F.
News to me. That story is hilarious.
Dreggas
Leahy is currently tearing up the floor of the Senate over this in regards to the bill before the senate about removing the specter ammendment. If republicans block this then it’s only going to get worse.
Dreggas
They wanted to use the AUSA’s as a political hit team. The remainder of the 93 now know that their job come mid 2008 is to make any alegation against democrats, as loudly as possible.
Gonzalez needs to be prosecuted for perjury.
The remaining AUSA’s should all be impeached en-mass.
four law violations come to mind…
Mike S
Speaking of the Specter amendment, did anyone see him on FOX news yesterday with Chris Wallace. They batyh acted like his amendment came about out of the blue as opposed to out of Specter’s office.
That’s “Fair and Ballanced” for ya.
numbskull
The Wash state story reminds me of the old saw: “Ya cain’t fix stupid.”
demimondian
Well, the WA story has a new twist. You see, our local Republican mouthpiece, the Seattle Times has started preaching about how ACORN being investigated for its role in possible voter fraud, which is being relayed to our new USA in Seattle this week, thanks to the vigilance of the (Republican) King County prosecutor, Norm Maleng.
There’s only one problem with this story. Maleng didn’t discover the fraud—ACORN itself did, and took action to make sure that the potentially invalid registrations were invalidated before the election. Oh, and there’s this…this isn’t the only time that ACORN has been targeted on the basis of questionable evidence. The other case? New Mexico, which used to be run by some guy named…Iglesias. He declined to prosecute.
Daniel DiRito
To see a tongue-in-cheek visual of Alberto & Karl starring in the new White House presentation of “Justice Is Served”...link here:
http://www.thoughttheater.com
Otto Man
Through all this, I’m reminded of a classic Onion headline about the first President Bush:
“Bush Not Liar, Says Bush.”
Dreggas
It’s so much fun listening to the Bootlicker caucus of the Senate try to spin their way out of putting the law back where it was.
Dreggas
I hereby nominate Senator Jeff Sessions to receiver the Rim-Job award for best bush buttlicking for the year 2007. I know the year is young but hey, this guy wouldn’t get fired as a USA under this president given his performance today on the senate floor.
Balloon Juice
[...] As a sidebar, don’t miss this story about the great voter fraud case on which Washington US Attorney Tom McKay supposedly lost his standing with the DOJ. It’s pretty funny. [...]