"Schumer wrestled with his conscience and once again he won." (updated)

[ProSense]

Found in the comments to this post: If . . . .

Let's pass a law saying illegal activities (torture) are still illegal. Then let's wait for George "War Crimes" Bush to sign it.

Ludicrous and despicable!

NOVEMBER 6, 2007, 9:14 AM

Mukasey Gets a Hearing

By TOBIN HARSHAW

Well, for once the other senator from New York has set off the big blog debate. “I am voting today to support Michael B. Mukasey for attorney general for one critical reason: the Department of Justice — once the crown jewel among our government institutions — is a shambles and is in desperate need of a strong leader, committed to depoliticizing the agency’s operations,” writes Charles Schumer on this morning’s Times Op-Ed Page.

Shaun Mullen of Kiko’s House has a three-point response:

(1.) Yes, Main Justice is a mess, but putting its administrative house in order pales in comparison to calling out the president on torture.

(2.) It’s nice to know that he believes that Mukasey is a man of his word, but we know without question that the president is not. Nor is he about to cede any of the unprecedented power that he has grabbed.

(3.) When is it the time for the Senate to make “a bold declaration” about anything of consequence, let alone something so consequential as torture? The answer is evident: Not any time soon.

<…>

Over at The Moderate Voice, Shaun Mullen (yep, him again) puts the Mukasey hearings into the broader spectrum.

“You’re either against torture or you aren’t, and the Mukasey nomination was an opportunity for the Democrats to draw the line over an issue that has a moral gravity and is not merely political,” he writes. “Instead, the nomination debate began with party members going in several different directions at once, followed by the inevitable wavering and ending, it would now seem, with a whimper, as the White House yet again held and kept the upper hand. If I was grading the Dems, I would give them a big fat ‘D,’ although the most important grade is the one that voters will give them next time around.”

more

[angstlessk]

1. boosh would sign it followed by a signing statement that says

nananananananna I dont have to follow the law....nananananananana!

[NightWatcher]

2. hmm if Chucky and Diane had voted with the other dems the vote would have been 10-9

and Mukasey would have been stopped?

thanks for okaying torture Chucky. Are you that scared or do you love the taste of bushs' ass

[GodlessBiker]

3. Chuckie must have received many complaint emails. He has an op-ed on NYTimes.com explaining himself

This is all about NY patronage (at least for Schumner, Feinstein is out to lunch).

[lapfog_1]

5. DiFi did some sort of back room deal

to provide Chuckie some cover (otherwise, HIS vote would have passed 10-9 with only Chuckie voting with the repukes).

So, somewhere down the line, expect Chuckie to vote for something that DiFi wants.

[ProSense]

4. Updated OP. n/t