Report: Cheney's office opposed Miers nomination to court

[Pirate Smile]

Veteran conservative columnist and pundit John Fund asserts in the Wall Street Journal today that the offices of Vice President Dick Cheney and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales tried to block the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, RAW STORY has learned.

"A last minute effort was made to block the choice of Ms. Miers, including the offices of Vice President Cheney and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales," Fund claims. "It fell on deaf ears."

"Indeed, even internal advice was shunned," Fund adds. White House Chief of Staff Andrew "Card is said to have shouted down objections to Ms. Miers at staff meetings. A senator attending the White House swearing-in of John Roberts four days before the Miers selection was announced was struck by how depressed White House staffers were during discussion of the next nominee. He says their reaction to him could have been characterized as, "Oh brother, you have no idea what's coming."

Though he has stumped for Bush's nominee, Cheney has taken a lower profile in recent days. Last week, he skipped out of the 50th anniversary party for the National Review, a conservative heavyweight in Washington.

http://www.rawstory.com/

[Vanje]

1. it sounds as if the Whitehouse is not a happy place

these days

[11cents]

2. Cheney/Rove trying to blame everything on Card

Whatevuh. Boys, boys -- to us you're *all* disgusting!

[rodeodance]

10. the rookies Card and Bartlett are trying to run the show as rove and chene

have their own problems(rovegate).

[Pirate Smile]

3. It is a gossipy piece but it is more Republicans eating there own so it

is quite enjoyable.

The non-leak WH (except for the leaks they want to put out) has a deluge of negative, back-biting leaks flowing steadily out now.

The "loyalty above all else" Shrub can't be happy.

:evilgrin:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

16. white horse? white Hoarse? oh, white HOUSE

I can't think of a better place to be unhappy.

[JoFerret]

53. Fear and loathing

in the white HEARSE.

[JDPriestly]

19. To get the feel, watch Downfall,

which portrays Hitler's last days in the bunker. The history is very different, but the bunker mentality is similar. Loyalty was Hitler's guide in the last days. The disloyal were shot; the loyal were promoted. Sound familiar?

[Demit]

4. Wow. That makes it sound more & more like a fuck-you move by Bush

I can just see him stomping his foot & saying "I can nominate anyone I want because I'M the PRESIDENT!"

What I want to be reading now in the MSM is honest speculation about what his real motive might be in having put her forward--was it his normal batshit craziness, or was it crazy-like-a-fox-ness, as in she's his personal insurance for future SC cases he might be personally involved in?

[gratuitous]

11. This comports with my suspicion

I could be entirely wrong, but my suspicion has been that Miss Miers was nominated as a reactionary move by Little Lord Pissypants in the wake of Brownie's fall from power: "You think THAT was cronyism? I'll SHOW you cronyism! And if you're all hand-wringing over my dereliction of FEMA, hell, I'll fuck up the Supreme Court if I wanna."

It also makes the Miers nomination more and more personal: Reject Miers, and you reject the person who nominated her. Do the Republicans have the nerve to buck Bush, or is his corrupt administration still running the show and calling all the shots? Some Republicans are making dissenting noises and rearing up on their hind legs, but is it all for show?

Time, as usual, will probably tell.

[SquireJons]

49. She would have to recuse herself on any case involving shrub n/t

[Wordie]

61. I wonder, what with Rove being busy w/Plamegate, if this is just the first

decision Bush had to make on his OWN! And that's why it's particularly messed up.

[librarycard]

5. Bush is trying to save his own ass w/Miers

He doesn't give a damn about Cheney since the Chimp still has something to prove to Poppy in this "every man for himself" scenario.

[goforit]

39. And this is why the Dems have stepped aside. (smart)

[Hobarticus]

6. "Are you not entertained?!?!"

I for one, sure as hell am!

:popcorn: :applause: :rofl: :applause: :popcorn: :rofl: :applause:

[goforit]

40. There is always a shock &awe around de corner, this ones on them.

ROFLMAO!!!!

[Zenlitened]

7. I just don't know about all this. Are we being punk'd?

It just seems pretty far-out that the Bushies would crash and burn so hard on something as big as a SC nomination.

:shrug:

[pfitz59]

13. I'm with you.......

"The lady doth protest too much..." We are being had!

[oioioi]

44. Attempt to portray Congress' independence from Executive?

Thinking about 06 elections?

Putting distance between the Senate and Mr. thirty-nine percent?

Sumpthin's up.

[aquart]

21. Yeah, yeah. And the Nazis were so smart and efficient

That they couldn't be defeated either.

PLEASE stop swallowing the propaganda whole.

[Zenlitened]

22. Alrighty then.

:crazy:

[VegasWolf]

27. Actually, this makes sense a bit. According to Finneman(sp?) on

the Chris Matthews Show, the WH is waged in a titanic battle between the damaging potential indictments of the Cheney/Rove camp, ant he
WH Chief of Staff Card camp in trying to keep their distance. At this point, it seems to be everyman for him/it self!!

[ClayZ]

8. A house divided.......

and they all go tumbling down....



:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[JoFerret]

54. But we still have three more years

of this damage, corruption and incompetence.

[MidwestTransplant]

9. Rove and Cheney both out of view?

Maybe Cheney expects bad news form the GJ too?

[patcox2]

12. Consistent with rumors of Rove vs. Card fighting,

and with other rumors of a Bush-Cheney rift. But there is also the fact that both Cheney and Rove have been sick lately, too. But for whatever reason, Bush seems to be trying to go it alone lately. It might well be that Bush himself has instituted a "revolt," bucking against his primary handlers, Cheney and Rove, and they are retaliating by simply leaving him to his own devices, which would explain the rather obvious flailing the WH is doing these days (for example, this morning's absolutely pathetic photo op of the president talking to soldiers on a vidoeconference call; how best to emphasize the fact that they are in Iraq in harms way while he is sitting in Washington.)

[ChairmanAgnostic]

18. does leaving Bush to his own devices constitute cruel & unusual punishment

to the nation? Does anyone really deserve that much suffering, disaster and destruction?

Wanna see some president get tired and resign?

[yellowcanine]

50. Scuttlebutt (I love that word) is that Rove is preoccupied with Plamegate.

There was a piece in the WP this morning which suggested this.

[yellowcanine]

55. Here is the link to the WP story that suggests this.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/13/AR2005101301955.html

[MADem]

14. Wow, you would never know it from the fulsome praise

Alberto was dishing out on TV the other day!!!

But, hey, Fund must have an in--how else could Mr. 'Pro-Life, Knocked Up His Ex-Girlfriend's Teenage Daughter and Made Her Get an Abortion and Then Assaulted Her' Fund, get away with all the shit he has gotten away with, were he not blessed with friends in very high places?

[rosesaylavee]

15. Could * actually have been reading reviews of his

actions this past - oh is it five years already? - and taken matters "into his own hands"? That would explain the Miers nomination. Couldn't understand why Cheney or Rove would think this was strategic given their plan. NOW it makes sense.

Poor little man - his puddin head must be hurtin' with all that heavy thinking for himself. Pathetic to know that Card is still hanging on.

Its about to fall apart folks. Get your cameras ready.

[stillcool]

17. here's my take...

Harriets nomination could be equated to *'s hiring a 'dismissal of all charges'. The funding of think-tanks and media representatives for the last several decades is all about protecting wealth. i am sure there is a long list of 'appropriate' nominees, groomed by the heavy hitters for just this day, and * disappointed all when he choked in order to cover his own ass. The 'religous' factor is alot of smoke. What these people are offended by is anybody trying to take any of their money away, and Harriet is not one of theirs.

[OKNancy]

20. For those who wish to read the original Wall Street Journal

article:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110007398

How She Slipped Through
Harriet Miers's nomination resulted from a failed vetting process.

Thursday, October 13, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT

"There's a standard vetting process that we go through with all nominees."--White House spokesman Scott McClellan

"The president is very, very confident in his judgments about people, and he likes to reward loyalty."--Brad Berenson, an associate White House counsel in the first Bush term
-------------------------------------------------

President Bush has told friends that he learned how to manage from three places: Harvard Business School, his experiences working in the Texas oilfields and with baseball teams, and from watching his father. In all three places he learned valuable skills: flexibility, the importance of team effort, discretion, how to delegate. The one thing he apparently didn't learn was that you never short-circuit the standard vetting process when filling an important job, even when doing so has worked out in the past.
The vetting of Harriet Miers leaves questions that demand answers, not more spin or allegations that critics are "sexist" or "elitist." It was so botched and riddled with conflicts of interest that it demands at a minimum an internal White House investigation to ensure it won't happen again.

[MGKrebs]

31. That's a really good article. eom.

[symbolman]

35. Thank you for posting the actual link to the story

so that I don't have to run the gauntlet of RawStory's advertisers when the story was already established by an MSM source..

Doesn't this break Rule # 5 of the LBN Rules? I mean it seems like any site could repurpose a link and then run people through their site for gain..

I don't understand why this keeps going on, should we ALL do this because I could sure use the money for my site and TAKEBACKTHEMEDIA.COM EXCLUSIVE sure would look cool on LBN..

I'm not attacking anyone, just wondering why we All shouldn't be doing this if it seems to be allowed..

Aren't the rules for everyone to adhere to?

[Pacifist Patriot]

23. Does anyone remember the Daily Show where...

Stewart showed a clip of a meeting where Bush made an incredibly pointed comment about the next appointee with Gonzales in the room?

Stewart chuckled and said, "Wow, Bush is either going to nominate Alberto Gonzales or he was just an absolute dick to Alberto Gonzales."

I think there is not just a split at the White House, I agree with the journalist from Vanity Fair who said everyone is out to cover his own ass now.

[savemefromdumbya]

24. was he worried about Bush'd AWOL stuff?

now perhaps Bush's AWOL stuff will come out now = Miers.
When can we have a 'squeaky clean' government please?

[wordpix]

25. john fund now leaking, that's significant

The Bush Ship is leaking all over and John Fund, Bush media apologist and stalwart repug, is poking another hole. I guess he's jumping ship next as it continues to go down...

[progressivebydesign]

47. Was Fund the guy that was dating his girlfriend's daughter?

Or some other trashy republican behavior?

[yellowcanine]

58. Yep I believe that he was. Republican moral values, dontcha know?

[GarySeven]

26. My God people - 1,194 days left in this presidency

Think about it. The man only took the oath of office last January 21. In just that short period of time all the walls have caved in and now it is clear that all his hand-holders are fleeing, leaving him to stand and fidgit, exposed naked to the world as the fool and idiot he has always been.

This may be funny and amusing to some people, even to me, but my God it causes me to be equally worried too. This country has enemies, real enemies and even more enemies since this gang of gangsters came into existence. What in the WORLD is keeping the North Koreans from boiling over the 48th paraell? What in the WORLD is keeping China away from Taiwan? This government couldn't react now to a hay silo explosion in Kansas, much less to a direct attack against our legitimate interests abroad or to our civilian population at home.

Christ almighty - this man absolutely has to go. If there really are any serious people in Washington who are sincerely interested in the preservation of this nation, much less constitutional democracy, they need to either be talking this idiot into resigning or preparing articles of impeachment.

[tex-wyo-dem]

28. Couldn't agree with you more....

although it's satisfying for us to see the WH flailing like it has been of late, it also raises some serious issues...i.e. who the fuck is in charge? With Rove and Cheney running for cover the only ones left are *'s crony nitwits to try and help.

The whole damn administration is a bunch of unqualified Brownie look-alikes.

[dalaigh lllama]

42. My feelings exactly

"If there really are any serious people in Washington who are sincerely interested in the preservation of this nation" may they help us now. If * is in meltdown mode, I don't want him taking us down with him.

[kath]

43. "If there really are any serious people in Washington who are sincerely

interested in the preservation of this nation, much less constitutional democracy, they need to either be talking this idiot into resigning or preparing articles of impeachment."

Just had to see that again.

Nail. Hammer.

[applegrove]

29. Seems that neocons, fiscal conservatives, GOP loudmouths, & Cheney

will all paint themselves as being for only "qualified candidates" while the Bush WH & Democrats will be the ones backing her nomination and thus - incompetence.

You gotta wonder...:shrug:

[hiabrill]

30. it's getting better everyday.....

:bounce: :rofl: :popcorn: :rofl:

I want more..... alot more....

[lovuian]

32. Who'd ever think Miers would cause such a ruckus!!!

LOL!!! Ya gotta love it!!!

[goforit]

41. That sweet little old darling.

[yellowcanine]

52. And she is such a good Christian too. Tsk. Tsk. How sad.

[JoFerret]

56. Even that drip David Brooks

...has exposed her total lack of qualifications for the job and the betrayal of what he calls conservative ideas and thinking. his NYTimes column quotations from her writings were alarmingly vapid.
It seems that all (even the formerly loyal and sycophantic) now want to put distance bewteen themselves and *.

[yellowcanine]

57. I am delighted that someone knows how to use the word "drip" this way.

What does that make us, about 50 years old?

[1monster]

60. My first thought was, "No. I remember using drip as an adjective in that

manner......" Oh. That's right. I am very nearly 50.....
x( Sometimes I forget.

[cassiepriam]

33. Trouble in Paradise. Oh dear. Sorry to hear it.

[1956]

36. It gives me hope

To think that Cheney/Bush/Rove might be disagreeing on things!Indictments coming-backstabbing all the while???
Something is definitely up! However, when Ms. Meirs was nominated, I immediately thought it was only because he hopes she would save his ass,(so he must be good and scared of something,no?) so IF she goes thru he will be a bit untouchable I suspect, however, I hope like hell she doesn't. Bush will be more exposed than ever. I do believe they are all finally trying to turn on the twisted fuck!

[cassiepriam]

37. yes the system is cracking. Not good for shrub.

He needs a lot of propping up.

[indepat]

34. God, how I love it so

[goforit]

38. I guess Laura was the heavy weight on this one.....Way to go Laura!!

[uncertainty1999]

45. So, Cheney SUPPORTED Meirs after being AGAINST her...

Hmm....sounds vaguely familiar

[progressivebydesign]

46. I think the rumors are true! Bush and Cheney are feuding!!

That is why the colossal fuckups keep happening to Bush with these cheezy photo ops gone awry. Rumor is that Cheney and Rove are on one side, and Bush and Card on the other. Bush without a brain... oy.

[yellowcanine]

51. Coup attempt by Cheney? Bush counterattacking by tying Cheney to

Plamegate? Tune in next Friday for all of the exciting action "As the Worm Turns"!

[ngGale]

48. Whatever the reason, it sure is entertaining...

to see them eat their own.:popcorn:

[Supersedeas]

59. Andy Card has finally made his appearance known