Breaking: Gone-zales!

By: Lowell
Published On: 8/27/2007 9:13:36 AM

All I have to say about this for the moment is GOOD RIDDANCE!  Alberto Gonzales disgraced his office and the United States of America.  Now, we have the long task ahead of us to rebuild our "virtually nonfunctional" Justice Department following the rein of ruin by this utterly incompetent sycophantic bozo.  Then, starting in January 2009, we can do the same with the Presidency.  We can also prosecute criminal wrongdoing by these rats Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gonzales et al. to the full extent of the law.   You know, the prosecution that Gonzales helped to protect these guys against?  Sadly, even after Watergate, we apparently need to prove again and again that in America, nobody is above the law.

Comments



This is more than a political victory (Donkey Hotay - 8/27/2007 9:24:53 AM)
Remember that Gonzalez gave the legal rationalization for torture, spying by a government on its own people and many other atrocities.

This is a day that everyone who cares about human rights should celebrate.

Tomorrow Harry Reid needs to appoint a modern day Church Report on what exactly our own government has been doing on our soil.



Agreed. Justifying torture will be a black mark (Lowell - 8/27/2007 9:27:32 AM)
on America forever.  It can never be forgiven, only rectified (also, anyone who engaged in torture or allowed it to take place needs to be prosecuted).


He'll just be replaced with another ditto-head, I'm afraid. n/t (Andrea Chamblee - 8/27/2007 9:28:47 AM)


NYT has a good story (Andrea Chamblee - 8/27/2007 9:27:53 AM)
Feel free to delete my diary (although laughed out loud at Grey Havens' comment).

NYT.

Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has been marred by accusations of perjury before Congress, has resigned. A senior administration official said he would announce the decision later this morning in Washington.

WaPo.

[An] official, also speaking on grounds of anonymity, said that Gonzales had submitted a resignation letter last Friday. These officials declined to be identified because the formal announcement about Gonzales was still pending.

NYT

Discuss...



Tangential if not off topic, but... (Kathy Gerber - 8/27/2007 9:47:29 AM)
Freudian typo in that MSM article:

Senator Charles Schumer, the New York Democrat who sits on the committee and has been calling for Mr. Gonzales's resignation for months, said this morning: "It has been a long and difficult struggle, but at last the attorney general has done the right thing and stepped down. For the previous six months, the Justice Department has been virtually nonfunctional, and desperately needs new readership."



US News & World Report (Randy Klear - 8/27/2007 9:31:26 AM)
had the rumor on their website late Friday afternoon.  They say Michael Chertoff will move from DHS to Justice to replace him.


COMMENT HIDDEN (Sui Juris - 8/27/2007 10:19:08 AM)


Was a deal cut (Evan M - 8/27/2007 10:44:30 AM)
This is total idle speculation, and probably baseless, but fun:

Was a deal cut exchanging the FISA bill for Gonzalez's resignation?



Gotta go with NO on this one... (The Grey Havens - 8/27/2007 11:45:23 AM)
Gonzales would have gone down, one way or another.
I would have just


I think I agree (Evan M - 8/27/2007 12:13:15 PM)
It's a far-fetched theory, but it was fun to speculate.

The frightening thing is how close to reasonable such a trade would seem to me. I really don't want to be that suspicious and cynical.



I get it. Reid was cutting deals. (The Grey Havens - 8/27/2007 1:11:58 PM)
Remember, Harry Reid did cut deals with the Bush Admin to avoid any recess appointments.  If Reid was willing to cut a deal for that why not include the AG's resignation?

I think the reason is basically that despite the picture painted about the FISA bill, Dems really are willing to exercise some power, especially on the Fired Attorneys and related subpoenas.



You would call this (MohawkOV1D - 8/27/2007 1:15:53 PM)
(if true) exercising power?


With 49, yeah (Evan M - 8/27/2007 1:44:21 PM)
With a governing minority of, effectively, 48 or 49, depending on circumstances, (with Tim Johnson out and Lieberman being about as reliable as a Bush appointee's testimony before Congress), I would say that Reid stopping the President from using an explicit power provided by the Constitution is exercising power, yes.


Democratic success depends (MohawkOV1D - 8/27/2007 2:11:20 PM)
on how low you set the bar.  I get it now! 


Measurement (Evan M - 8/27/2007 2:28:50 PM)
So instead we should measure success by where we are at this VERY SECOND and not look at the long term or the general state of affairs across the board?

If we're not winning everywhere, all the time, we're not winning at all?

Just trying to understand the parameters...



Not trying to be (MohawkOV1D - 8/27/2007 3:51:44 PM)
dense, just throwing out the frustration.

There is no such thing as comity or bi-partisanship with these republicans.  Learn the lesson, your gonna get raped every time.

Allowing BushCo time to PLAN, strategize, and orchestrate is what put us in this situation to begin with.  I refuse to apologize and nod along with the democratic plan of being led around by the nose by republicans.

We, the voters, gave everything we had to get these people in office.  And what we get is excuses.  I'll make no excuses, apologies, or donations, so long as this is the plan.  If we had followed the DNC's 50 State Failure plan, Webb would still be writing books.  At home.

FISA!



Not exactly (Evan M - 8/27/2007 4:22:42 PM)
Gov. Dean's 50 state strategy is the reason I was standing at farmers' markets last summer, handing out Webb flyers. DailyKos, and Dean's inspiration to fight in the Red states got me off my butt and into my local Democratic headquarters.

I guess I'm just a little bit more willing to keep the faith and fight the good fight, even allies who may be, at times, flawed in how they vote.



Seeing as how VA (MohawkOV1D - 8/27/2007 4:42:21 PM)
deviated from the 50 state plan, DSCC was SLOOOOWWW in giving Webb $$$$$$.  Would have been less of a squeaker had the money been there for AD's.

I worked from Mar - Nov. of 06 to help get Webb elected.  Donated my share of $$$$ to the cause as well.  I haven't stoped.  Yet.  But I'm not happy, and I'm going to make sure the Dem's know why.

Here is another reason to be pissed at the Dem's.  Through no actual hands on effort of their own, KKKarl and Gonzo are headed toward the exit.  And what do I get in email:

"Make a contribution to the Democratic Party, and help us send a message -- that we're not going to stop until our questions have been answered".

From Kennedy, From Kerry, From MOVE ON, and Dems.org.  Give us money because ?  Show me an indictment, show me the articles of impeachment, show me troops on the way home, show me where you've stoped the Repug's from overstepping constitutional authority.  DO SOMETHING!!!!!

Or, we'll go somewhere else.



COMMENT HIDDEN (MohawkOV1D - 8/27/2007 10:55:10 AM)


Orin Hatch (MohawkOV1D - 8/27/2007 11:15:22 AM)
to replace GONZO?

Just a rumor.



I did like Schumer's preemptive shot: (Sui Juris - 8/27/2007 11:38:23 AM)
Justice had "even less credibility than FEMA".  Scratch Chertoff . . .


Interesting WHEN this story broke... (oncerednowblue - 8/27/2007 12:06:34 PM)
Isn't today the 2-year anniversary of the Bush Administration's biggest domestic blunder, a.k.a. Hurricane Katrina?

Hey I'm cynical.  The timing of this announcement has Rove's smell all over it.  Bad news coming out of Anbar Province...hey no problem, let's ratchet up the terror warning to orange! 

Throwing Fredo under the bus is Rove's swansong: this breaking news distracts the country from 2nd-year anniversary coverage of bodies floating in NOLA's Ninth Ward. 



Good Riddance but ... (norman swingvoter - 8/27/2007 12:08:57 PM)
It looks to me that this guy sold his soul to george bush and would literally do anything asked regardless of laws, honesty, decency, etc.  It is good for America to get rid of him but, for justice to prevail, he would have to be in handcuffs!