Burlington Free Press: Congress moves to restore checks

[maddezmom]

Congress moves to restore checks

Published: Thursday, March 22, 2007
Confidence in government, once shaken, won't be restored with secret testimonies.

But that's exactly what the White House seeks to do by insisting current and former top presidential aids speak only to members of Congress in private and off the record in the investigation into the firing of federal prosecutors late last year.

Congress is rightly calling for public testimony under oath by Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and others. Documents released by the administration point to the roles played by the two senior advisers in the attorneys' firing, which stink of partisan politics and abuse of power.

The Bush administration's shifting public explanations for the dismissal of the eight U.S. attorneys have done nothing to inspire public confidence that the White House will voluntarily tell the truth. Closed-door testimony will do nothing to improve public trust.

This is not about executive privilege, the right of the executive branch to deny some requests for information by Congress and the judiciary, although the extent of that privilege will likely be tested again in the courts when Congress subpoenas White House witnesses.

more:http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070322/OPINION/703220325

[vickitulsa]

1. Interesting, isn't it? Some here at DU kept saying this US Attorneys story

wasn't worth pursuing, or getting our hopes up about, because it would never gain traction in the wider public.

I couldn't put my finger on just why I disagreed with that, but there was just something about the whole thing that really smelled to high heaven to me. I hoped it would waft some of the same foul aroma among a great many Americans who are by now getting pretty damn tired of hearing about all the questionable actions (at best!) of that pack of liars in this administration.

Seems the stench is getting to a LOT of folks we hadn't thought were paying attention ... and I hope they find it impossible to just ignore the problems caused by those criminals who got themselves installed in the Executive branch of our government.

All of us here at DU had "had enough" a very long time ago. But now at last I think the rest of America is seeing more of the truth and growing angrier by the week about what's been going on.

I know if I had been someone who had voted for Bu$h and trusted him to be the honest, decent person he tried to pretend he was, I'd feel a lot of fury at being so taken in, so lied to, so totally betrayed.

I really think we're reaching that much-talked-about "tipping point" as Americans feel their righteous anger starting to boil. I don't know anyone who enjoys knowing they are held in utter contempt by their "leaders."

[maddezmom]

2. I remember I was thinking the whole thing stunk when I posted this

Former Bush aide named to U.S. attorney post (interim appt. no senate confirmation)
Saturday, Dec 16, 2006

By Aaron Sadler
Stephens Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - A former Republican political operative and top aide to President Bush was named late Friday as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

The appointment of Tim Griffin drew criticism from Arkansas senators Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln, both Democrats. Pryor accused the Bush administration of circumventing the traditional nomination process on behalf of a political ally.

The open-ended appointment differs from a normal presidential selection, where Griffin would face Senate hearings and a confirmation vote.

Pryor believes the Senate should be able to quiz Griffin about his qualifications, especially given his background as Bush's deputy director of political affairs under Karl Rove, spokesman Michael Teague said.

Before that, Griffin worked in opposition research for the Republican National Committee.

"We hope it's not the White House's intention to go around the Constitution, go around the nomination process and reward a fellow who's done some political work for them," Teague said.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2655390

But it sunk like a stone in LBN, so then I thought my :tinfoilhat: was probably on too tight. :)

[vickitulsa]

3. Yes, that happens a lot, sadly. Really good stories sink into oblivion

while others are posted repeatedly and scatter the discussion. Sometimes DU's popularity works against its usefulness, but it's still the best place to look for what's important, I think!

I've even found that if I can get an IRL friend to check out just one topic at DU, something he and I have been discussing that is a lively topic here too, he will come back after seeing what a good source for "real" news DU is.

I didn't find it that way ... just stumbled onto it when searching for some information. But once here, I never left! :)

Now I wonder how I ever managed without DU to turn to for accurate information on current events and for good discussions of those events.


I recall being dismayed and pissed about that December 06 business in Arkansas, our neighbor state, too, but I didn't learn about it until early this year.

The way things are looking lately, I'm starting to believe that the smirkers in the White House just didn't understand that they weren't going to get away with all their dirty tricks so easily as when they had 'Publican majorities in Congress! They got away with so much of their evil plotting for so long, I guess it's hard for them to change their ways. They were, in a word, SPOILED.

Now, like brats who are raised with never a thought to something like accountability, they can't seem to put the brakes on their brazen self-serving tactics. Perhaps that will work out for the best in the end, as it seems to be having a cumulative effect on Americans who are getting sick and tired of being ignored and duped!

When I was growing up, my father never would discuss problems in our family, saying, "It's like a pile of shit -- the more ya stir it, the more it stinks!"

I always thought he was a boorish, selfish tyrant who never wanted to be held accountable for anything he did wrong. But I find his crude statement correctly applies to someone else a lot like him who's been squatting in OUR White House for too damn long! :evilgrin: