Over the edge of Loyalty

Losttxn responds to yesterday's post calling for AG Alberto Gonzalez to step down. He makes an interesting point along the way but one that I'm inclined to think ultimately doesn't make a difference. His response:

I'm afraid of how a resignation would be reported and viewed by the poor uninformed that still get their news from the MSM.

Heck, my mom believes that Scooter got convicted for exposing Plame! If Gonzo leaves she'll likely think that he was removed for "illegally" firing judges. It would only embolden the right to do the same to the next Dem president, further diminishing the power of the Presidency.

Yes, this was poorly handled by the AG, but that doesn't warrant him leaving. Congress is overstepping and the cowardly republcans don't want to stand up to the political heat they are getting. They should grow a pair and back Gonzo because he is a quality individual. The truth is that giving in now would only encourage the libs to go after something or someone else!

What I agree with: Republicans in a Congress with worse ratings than the President are indeed afraid of confronting the Democrat's political grandstanding. I don't know why.

What I'm unsure of: How even an articulate argument pointing all that out benefits the Administration after being filtered through a media whose main story for 3 years now is Bush incompetence, 24/7.

What I disagree with: Sadly, folks like Losttxn's mom are irretrievably lost to the truth in some of these matters. As mentioned above, can/will the truth of this matter change the perception?

Frankly, would the resignation or dismissal of Gonzalez likewise change the perception? Probably not and again I tie it back to the media story of the Bush Administration that has solidified since Katrina.

To the extent that anything can change in these last two years, it needs to start with better decision making and better personnel. Bush's team has, for the most part, always looked pretty good on paper. Unfortunately, the reality has consistently been less impressive.

The edge of Loyalty

Strong personal loyalty is a trait I share with the President. So when he seemingly blindly holds fast in support of his people, I get it. And it is more than admirable.

In the case of Alberto Gonzalez though it's come time to let go. These reactions to yesterday's train-wreck in the Senate make it obvious that the man has passed a point of no return.

Though I believe that he hasn't truly done anything wrong (and you can hear the same admission from the linked comments), this is too injurious to the Justice Department, it's reputation and to the Administration. There is no evidence that there was illegal or unethical conduct here but the AG was not able to present a simple, coherent defense of his and his department's actions yesterday and hasn't since this would-be scandal broke.

End the ridiculousness and step down.

Refresh my Memory

Today at the Washington Monthly blog Kevin Drum highlights a piece from McClatchy's Greg Gordon discussing the politicization of the Bush Justice Department. Kevin calls it Banana Republicans:

Greg Gordon of McClatchy on the politicization of the Justice Department:

For six years, the Bush administration, aided by Justice Department political appointees, has pursued an aggressive legal effort to restrict voter turnout in key battleground states in ways that favor Republican political candidates.

The administration intensified its efforts last year as President Bush's popularity and Republican support eroded heading into a midterm battle for control of Congress, which the Democrats won.

....On virtually every significant decision affecting election balloting since 2001, the [Civil Rights] division's Voting Rights Section has come down on the side of Republicans, notably in Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Washington and other states where recent elections have been decided by narrow margins.

At first blush I wasn't sure who to be most appalled by...Kevin or Greg. For all his success--after all he blogs for a living, I do not--Kevin is not exactly the most astute blogger in the world.

Upon further review however, the ridiculousness of all this is all on Gordon. Kevin, as good bloggers do, only highlighted the bad logic. He just forgot to call it that.

It's that last quote that kills me. Essentially we're to believe that part & parcel with a systematic shredding of the Constitution over the last 6+ years the Bush Justice Department has acted inappropriately--dare we say illegally--to influence elections!?

Let's hit the refresh button for a minute and reflect; was it Republicans that car-pooled homeless folks to the polls in Wisconsin, enticing them with free cigarettes in 2004? Did Republican would-be student activists vote multiple times in 2004?

Was it dead Republicans voting in both 2000 and 2004? Or maybe it was Republicans who sought recounts in only certain counties, applying different standards across Florida in 2000?

Well, no it wasn't. And perhaps the reason the Voting Rights Division "sided" with Republicans so often since 2001 is that Democrats were responsible for the majority of documented voter rights violations and attempts at voter fraud.

Just a thought.