Matthew Rothschild: Good Riddance, Gonzales

[marmar]

From the Progressive:


Good Riddance, Gonzales
August 27, 2007 By Matthew Rothschild



Good riddance, Alberto Gonzales.

His resignation was long overdue.

He disgraced himself and the Justice Department by approving—and then lying to Congress about—the illegal NSA spying program, the firing of the U.S. attorneys, and the shameful torture policy.

If he didn’t resign, he might have been impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors.

But I’m not giddy today over this news. No champagne for me.

Because, face it, Gonzales was only doing what Bush and Cheney wanted him to do.

It was Cheney who said we needed to go on the “dark side” in the war on terror, and Bush who said he didn’t want to hear about the “international lawyers.” Gonzales simply was the implementer and the rationalizer.

It was Cheney who pushed the illegal NSA spying program, and who ordered Gonzales over to Ashcroft’s hospital bed. And Bush himself signed off on this illegal spying more than a dozen times.

So Gonzales leaving the Justice Department doesn’t signal any sea change in policy.

Bush and Cheney used Gonzales to turn the Justice Department into a shield for the President, a pump for the aggrandizement of the executive branch, and a wrench for squeezing our rights.

That won’t change now that Gonzales is gone. It may—and only may—change when we have a change at the very top. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.progressive.org/mag_wx082707