Democrats introducing no confidence resolution in Gonzales

[sabra]

Source: AP

CAPITOL HILL (AP) - As promised, Senate Democrats are introducing a resolution expressing no confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

A draft of the resolution says that the Senate senses that Gonzales "no longer holds the confidence of the Senate and of the American people."

That doesn't apply to President Bush, who earlier today said he continued to have confidence in Gonzales' ability to serve as attorney general.

However, the president did say at the White House news conference that he would address any wrongdoing uncovered by congressional or other investigations related to the firings of 8 federal prosecutors.

Read more: http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?S=6564221

[Matariki]

1. This accomplishes what exactly?

Can't they impeach him? Can't they arrest him for lying to Congress?

[bmbmd]

3. Well-it does drive a wedge

between camps of Republicans. They will have to take a stand, in public, on Alberto.

[Demeter]

2. Oh, I'm SO Impressed....NOT

As if this makes up for the signal failures to date...or even is an adequate response to the specific crime.....

[soothsayer]

4. I'm introducing a no confidence vote on Congress

[Carolina]

11. exactly! eom

[pat_k]

18. And they thought they got an earful on their April district break. . .

I have a feeling they'll be bombarded with demands for impeachment when they are back at home next week. With each impotent gesture, it becomes clearer that NOTHING short of impeachment is capable of "making" the outlaws in the WH do anything they don't want to.

All the fantasies we heard after the November election are being exposed. Fantasies like "Bush is toast, impotent" "impeachment would distract Congress from 'getting things done,'" "the nation wants to see bipartisanship," "Congress needs focus on extracting us from the quagmire Iraq, not wasting time on impeachment". . .

Without real consequences "aggressive oversight" accomplishes nothings. Thugs and outlaws don't care if they are "exposed." They don't care about "condemnation" and complaint. They don't care about accusations. They don't stop until they are forced to. The only force capable of stopping the thugs in the WH is impeachment.

Every week that passes, more people are finally getting it. If we want to end the occupation, we need focus ALL of our efforts on impeaching Bush and Cheney. It is NOT "all about Iraq." It is "all about" the insanity of Bush and Cheney -- insanity that is killing 20 servicemen and women a week, injuring 20 a day, killing and maiming countless Iraqis and driving those that have the means to escape out of the country.

The ONLY fight capable of rescuing our Constitution from the war criminals in the WH is the fight to impeach Bush and Cheney.

The ONLY fight capable of rescuing our troops from the disastrous quagmire in Iraq is the fight to impeach Bush and Cheney.

The ONLY fight capable of enabling Congress to "accomplish things" for the American people is the fight to impeach Bush and Cheney.

The ONLY fight capable of redeeming the USA in the eyes of the world is the fight to impeach Bush and Cheney.

The ONLY fight capable of restoring our self-respect as Americans is the fight to impeach Bush and Cheney.

The ONLY fight capable of rescuing the Democratic Party from impotence and ridicule is the fight to impeach Bush and Cheney.

The ONLY fight capable of proving that Democrats have the courage, fortitude, and commitment to principle that our fellow Americans respect is the fight to impeach Bush and Cheney.

[AlinPA]

5. The R's will filibuster it; media will then say "Senate rejects no-confidence vote"

or "Gonzales favored by Senate" or "Bush wins on Senate vote"

[yodermon]

17. that kind of logic is what led the dems

down this cowardly "no benchmarks+blank check" war funding bill.
"oh no, bush/repukes/the media will say bad & mean things about us, so we'd better cave."

OF COURSE the media & repukes will lie & spin. It is what they do. The key is to keep doing the right thing in the face of the faux criticism - that's what the public sees as courageous, as opposed to the running & cowering our lily-livered Dems are doing.

[AlinPA]

21. Yep. Dems chickened out. Agree "faux criticism" as in Fox.

[JerseygirlCT]

23. Yes, but every one of them involved will also be all the more

tied to Gonzales and Bush come 2008 and elections. They become tarred by the crimes of those two.

[kestrel91316]

6. Whoop-dee-do.............Hey Congress: IMPEACH the fucker already.

[JDPriestly]

7. This is premature.

They need to call Samson and McClaren and then Gonzales, Meiers and finally Rove back to ask about why Griffin was appointed a US attorney when they all knew he had used caging lists to violate the Voting Rights Act.

They need to find out where the list of attorneys came from and why so many of the attorneys who were fired were conducting or refusing to conduct investigations and prosecutions that were controversial in the Republican Party.

They need to ask these bosses why they allowed their underling to consider the political and religious beliefs of applicants for non-political positions in violation of the civil service regulations (laws).

Did Gonzales attempt to influence Goodling's testimony before the Congress? (His statement that he was trying to comfort her is absurd. He is an attorney who presumably understands the ethical limits on how a lawyer may "comfort" a witness.)

Message to Bush: Drama? You ain't seen nothin' yet.

[pat_k]

8. With Bush and Cheney are waging war on the Constitution in plain sight. . .

. . .Gonzales is a minion. An enabler. A sideshow.

It is long past time to impeach Bush and Cheney for one of the crimes against our constitutional democracy already proven in the public record: Such as

• issuing the edict declaring Gitmo a Geneva-free zone. Turning Americans into torturers and destroying our moral standing to object when other parties to armed conflict to torture Americans.
• spying on Americans without warrant
• abuse signing statements to nullify laws passed by Congress

To those who say "don't have the votes in the Senate," consider this: Even the fascist Senators who enthusiastically embrace torture won't be keen to defend Bush's abuse of signing statements to arrogantly overrule them and render them powerless (e.g., Bush's nullification of McCain's anti-torture amendment, which the Senate passed 90-9.). They will not be keen to pave the way for Unitary Authoritarian Executive Hillary to "interpret" the bills they pass into oblivion.

Simultaneous investigations of co-conspirators and minions would be fine, but there is NOTHING that could be turned up that is more "impeachable" than war crimes.

Impeaching Bush and Cheney is not "pre-mature. It is long overdue.

[yodermon]

15. I disagree: it's NOT premature.

If this were an impeachment resolution, then yes it'd be premature.
All the hearings & investigations you listed in your post need to happen, yes.
But compound those things WITH concurrent no-confidence vote, and you have an environment RIPE for real, actual impeachment of Gonzo (which could lead who-knows-where!)
IMHO. :hi:

[JDPriestly]

19. I correct my post -- McNulty not McClaren.

[porque no]

9. Who gives a flying fuck what the candy-assed Dems do,

they got no cred, no spine, and now no mandate. Fuck them and the horse they rode in on.

[Carolina]

10. Big woo

like it really accomplishes something ...

[L. Coyote]

12. X-post = C-SPAN 3 LIVE NOW - Dems Announcing No-Confidence = w/Links

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x959789

This was a must see event. YouTube or Video anyone???

[Solly Mack]

13. Oh now, if Gonzales had truly done anything wrong or illegal, America being

the rule of law country, would hold him accountable.

A mere scolding just means he wasn't as well behaved as he should have been.

[cyberpj]

14. BFD. nt

[yodermon]

16. GOOD.

True this does not diminish their cowardice wrt the war funding debacle. BUT, the no-confidence vote is a great repug wedge, as well as a trial balloon & roll-call on Gonzo's impeachment/conviction.

I am NOT happy with our Dems right now, but this needs to happen now, and I'm glad it is.

[RiverStone]

20. They better look in the mirror and ask...

Who deserves a no-confident resolution!

Of course, maybe they are bluffing on caving in on the war funding bill and will make an 11th hour stand - yea right.

[JerseygirlCT]

22. Right after he fires the person responsible for the leaks in the

Plame case.

[L. Coyote]

24. K&R This was MUST SEE. YouTube or Video link ANYONE?? n/t

[maddezmom]

25. Bush Reaffirms His Support for Gonzales

By DAVID JOHNSTON and ERIC LIPTON
Published: May 25, 2007
WASHINGTON, May 24 — President Bush said Thursday that he would correct any problems uncovered in the investigations of last year’s dismissals of federal prosecutors, but he added that nothing had undermined his support for Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.

“If there’s wrongdoing, it will be taken care of,” Mr. Bush said at a Rose Garden news conference, speaking of internal Justice Department inquiries into the dismissals of the United States attorneys and whether politics influenced how lower-level jobs were filled.

Democrats said that Mr. Gonzales’s credibility had been further eroded by the testimony on Wednesday of Monica M. Goodling, a former aide to the attorney general. Testifying under a grant of immunity from prosecution, Ms. Goodling said she had “crossed the line” in using inappropriate political considerations to screen applicants for nonpartisan legal jobs at the Justice Department.

Justice Department officials said Thursday that the investigation into potentially improper hiring practices involving Ms. Goodling had been broadened to include her role in helping to appoint federal immigration judges.

more:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/25/washington/25attorneys.html?ref=washington