AP :: Leahy Says Gonzales Nomination on Track

[jefferson_dem]

WASHINGTON - Alberto Gonzales will face tough questioning during hearings on his nomination to become the next attorney general but is on track to be confirmed, the Senate Judiciary Committee (news - web sites)'s top Democrat said Wednesday.


Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), D-Vt., met with Gonzales and warned him to be prepared for lengthy questioning about his positions on how the Geneva Conventions apply to the war on terrorism and whether his close relationship with President Bush (news - web sites) jeopardizes his independence.


"There are going to be issues that are going to come up where the interest of justice may be at odds with the interest of the president as an individual, and you have to go with the interest of justice," Leahy said he told Gonzales.


To cite one high-profile example, Gonzales — if confirmed — will have to decide whether to recuse himself from the investigation into the leak to the press of the identity of undercover CIA (news - web sites) officer Valerie Plame. Outgoing Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) did step aside under pressure, and Gonzales testified in June before a grand jury hearing evidence in that case.

<SNIP>

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=512&e=1&u=/ap/20041117/ap_on_go_co/democrats_gonzales

[JohnKleeb]

1. it will be impossible to reject him but

hopefully they'll shed some light on him, if Leahy and the dems can do that, I'll be happy.

[leesa]

2. So let me get this straight. Our wimpy Dems will ask tough

questions and then not listen to the answers?? This is the plan for Condi as well. Oh we'll ask her tough questions and then confirm her no matter what she has done or not done.

Why even bother asking them anything?

[springhill]

5. Lets see now...........

Our top law enforcer who rejects the rule of law and thinks torture is just hunky dory, yep he'll be confirmed.

[Danmel]

8. Ashcroft Confirmation Redux

WTF is the point of this exercise? They confirm him no matter what he says but make him sweat a little? They een let him know he's a shoo-in anyway so he doesn't even really have to sweat? Once he's in who cares if they made him sweat? He's in and can do all the damage we know he's gonna do.

Why is this supposed to be reassuring to me? I swear, I really am ready to just give up and go to sleep for four years.

[sandnsea]

9. 44 votes

What the hell are they supposed to do? The confirmation really isn't in the Democrats hands. Besides, much better to expose them for the scum they are and just let the Republicans confirm pondscum. Save the fights for the Supreme Court.

[private_ryan]

16. guess what?

Bush won and now it's time for Christian nation to get some of the values they voted for.

[LeighAnn]

28. Stop Alberto Gonzales.com

Easy activism, forget about what the media says, we have to block this nomination.

http://www.stopalbertogonzales.com

[UTUSN]

30. Wow! Great Link! Will Be Using It----Thanks! n/t

[LeighAnn]

33. Yep, we beat back John Poindexter

We can beat back this guy.

[0007]

31. Maybe just catching a dummy and giving a South Park look

will un-nerve the right? I'm afraid not! We're in for a long fight that indeed look hopeless unless the media will come forth.

[judy]

3. question: at confirmation hearings,

is the nominee under oath?

If so, we could, even if just to get our voices heard, bombard dem senators with questions that beg to be asked.

If not, we don't need to bother...

[Az_lefty]

4. On track to be confirmed???

WTF????? Aren't these Dem's even going to pretend to do their job?

:mad:

[high density]

7. The customary thing to do is to give the president the cabinet

he wants. Let's save the fighting for the supreme court nominations.

[__Inanna__]

32. Herein lies my fear

Bear with me please, (new here) but if the Constitution Restoration Act of 2004 gets passed, this could have severe implications for the courts' powers based on section 1260.

So I am thinking that * will get his way with all his appointments, (and I have read this Restoration Act has been flying under the radar and is the most significant piece of legislation in 50 years) and then the courts will be overruled, and it will be left up to the feds to determine what is moral and just based on their interpretation of God's will?

This has really been bugging me, the conservatives are really pressing for it, and I am no lawyer. Any comments welcome.

Here is the link where I orignally pulled this up, although for some reason I cannot any longer. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:S.2082

And here is another link on it which does include the house version of the bill:

http://blog.democrats.com/node/418

[CityDem]

6. Memo to Pat

Grow a set.

10. What is going on with our political cartoonists?

What is going on with Trudeau, Oliphant, and the UK Daily Mirror? I thought we were the party of inclusion. Quite simply, the racist politial cartoons regarding Condoleeza Rice are unbeivable. When did we become the trailer trash??? Hate her policies,,,fine, but she is an accomplished person either way you look at it. Piano, Russian, Sigma Cum, jeez, we have to snap out of this.

[wildwww2]

12. She is also a war criminal. Respect her if you want. But I despise her.

And she deserves every bit of it. And maybe I am trailer trash. Does it make that filthy repuke better than me? I didn`t ignore the Aug 6th 2000 memo. And not warn one single airline or corporate media outlet. No I didn`t. She did. She is the trash that I see. Don`t include me in the people you want to snap out of it. Piano, Russian, Sigma Cum she is still shilling for this racist holy war. That cannot be won. Yes I won`t be snapping out of seeing the true colors of that maggot.
Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President

[gratuitous]

13. Hey, I'm an accomplished person too

But I'm no more fit to be Secretary of State than Ms. Rice.

[Democat]

14. Who is "our" do you mean "we liberals" in the "democrat party"

We liberals need to stop killing babies and worshipping satan, don't you agree? :eyes:

[Sleepless In NY]

15. kerrywon Whats so accomplished about a

National Security director with 3,000 dead people in one day on her watch? Who couldn't be bothered reading the Hart/Rudman report or listening to Richard Clarke? Here enjoy, Condi's "accomplishments":

"How could she not know?" 9/11 kin: Answers just raise questions

Relatives of the Sept. 11 victims ripped into Condoleezza Rice yesterday after she insisted the Bush administration had no clue the U.S. would be attacked.
"Shame," Terry McGovern, a New Yorker whose mother was killed, yelled at the national security adviser during Rice's testimony before the 9/11 commission.

Other relatives ridiculed Rice's assertion that she had no idea that Osama Bin Laden's men would hijack planes and crash them into the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

"How could she not know that?" asked Kristen Breitweiser, who lost her husband in the attacks. She noted that several similar threats were made including during the Atlanta Olympics.

"It's her job to know about national security threats facing the nation. If she doesn't know that, than who does? Who else is responsible?" Breitweiser asked.

Unlike former terrorism czar Richard Clarke, Rice did not apologize to the family members for the government's failure to prevent the catastrophe. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/story/181959p-157987c.html

Add that to Lying her butt off about Saddam's "Nuclear Capabilities"
Incompetent is too kind a word for Condi.

[rooboy]

24. The UK Daily Mirror is the party of inclusion? WTF are you talking about?

But thanks for trying REAL hard to inject Sean Hannity's brand of victimization into the debate. Much appreciated.

[Must_B_Free]

25. Get the fuck out of here with Hannity's talking points, asshole

[AndyTiedye]

11. Meanwhile, Our Country Has Gone Off The Rails Completely

[sadman]

17. I guess I don't really know much about this guy...

But isn't it a good thing to have a Latino in this high a position? I'm half Mexican myself, and I think it's great to finally have some a role model that high in the government, even if it is under this administration. Wouldn't this be the first time a Lantino has broken that white man barrier to this position?

[savistocate]

18. To go for anyLatino..by ethnic identity when he is

extremist and chosen as Bush's inside the smaller smaller circle.

The Hispanic nominee for a fdrl judge spot 2 yrs (?) ago was NOT endorsed by major Hispanic orgs. As Gonzalez should not be. Geneva conventions. all civilized nations respect, was demeaned as quaint etc.

[CBHagman]

19. Justifying torture is the deal-breaker.

There are just some things that cannot be countenanced. I know Gonzales is Latino, that he's a boot-strapper, that he's worked hard to get where he is. Those things are all fine. I would grumble if he was merely a garden-variety conservative but not stand in the way of his confirmation.

But anyone who is confirmed to a Cabinet office, particularly at the Department of Justice, MUST believe in the Bill of Rights and MUST uphold our treaties as well as the Constitution.

Where is the moral outrage at this administration? Gonzales turns up his nose at the Geneva Convention and looks for ways to grant a president the power to torture (this goes beyond "cruel and unusual punishment" in the Bill of Rights) and there's no outpouring of rage and disgust in this country?

Where the bloody hell are our morals? Oh, I forgot. People are too busy protecting us from "Saving Private Ryan" and the Breast That Ate the Super Bowl.

We are doomed as a country if we won't stand for human rights.

[manxkat]

20. No, it's not a good thing

to have anyone put into office simply because of his or her ethnicity. Sadman, do you really think Gonzales is going to elevate the interests of Latinos any more than Clarence Thomas helps African-Americans? What about the gay people working to help elect Bush and other gay-hating Repugnicans?

These people all suffer from various forms of internalized self-hate, plain and simple. Beware!

[sadman]

22. Well, I agree somewhat...

That no one should get something just because they're Latino or Black or whatever...but it would be nice to see a face that looks like mine when I see the news. Maybe he's not the RIGHT Latino for the job, but it sets a precedence, right? When are time comes back around, when we nominate a Latino or African-American for a position, it won't be the first time and will, therefore, be easier.

Besides, how much damage could he do? Would you prefer to have Ashcroft stay in that position? If I have to pick between two devils, I'll at least pick the devil that looks like me.

[UTUSN]

21. For Those Who Don't Know Him, He's Shrub's Houseboy

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1351296
The supposed Liberal half of the pundits on CNN’s The Capital Gang have already sounded the retreat regarding the nomination of Alberto Gonzalez for Attorney General with the words, “He’s got a great personal story, only one of eight siblings to go to college, and he maintains contact with them!”

While the Republican majority makes it unlikely that the nomination can be blocked, Gonzalez’s record, ideology, and role as Bush waterboy need thorough exposure and opposition. But the Democrats have to stay focused on those things and not allow the process to be framed on the basis of “ethnicity,” as in, “the first Hispanic, blah blah…”

During the ESTRADA hearings the beleaguered Democratic leaders actually stood firm and eventually won a rare victory, perhaps surprising even themselves, although the deciding factor might have been Estrada’s possible personal baggage instead of ideology. And almost all of the Hispanic organizations joined in opposing him based on his ideology.

With Gonzalez, the Republicans are springing yet again their “ethnic“ or “racial” trap that started with George I’s use of Clarence Thomas: Nominating a member of a minority group, perhaps not too bright or accomplished, but who toes the Conservative line, and, most of all, stymies the Democrats by their having to oppose somebody from one of their traditional constituencies. The payload of the “ethnic” gambit is to derail the vetting process, keeping attention away from the nominee’s record and ideological fanaticism.

During the Estrada hearings, Orrin Hatch was all over the media with a Shirley Temple pout, saying innocently, “How can the Democrats oppose this well qualified Hispanic?”

The answer then should have been, as now, “It is NOT about the ethnicity. That would be racism and quotas. It’s about the ideology and his record.”

This link covers his whole career: http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=246536

This link covers his role in the torture policy: http://lawofwar.org/Torture_Memos_analysis.htm (Home Page: http://lawofwar.org / )

[UTUSN]

27. via Bartcop

[w4rma]

23. torture memo, torture memo, torture memo, torture memo

Gonzales is pro-torture.

He'll be confirmed since Dems appear to be too demoralized to fight, but Dems need to raise more holy heck than this to get a bigger spotlight shined on Mr. torture is good boy. His pro-torture views need to be talked about on TV and in the first 3 paragraphs on any story about him.

Until then, they need to raise holy heck.

[MADem]

26. You know that the right wing of the Democratic party

...will cheerfully vote for him. He'll get the votes he needs, unless he totally blows it in the questioning.

What will be interesting is to see how many vote thumbs down, and who they are. The speeches on the floor might get interesting, too. Harken and Kerry were SMOKIN' today--they really ripped the admin on the credit card spending of BushCo. Maybe some day the media will actually cover this kind of stuff...

[Brand New Tico]

29. "AP :: Leahy Says Liberal Concentration Camps on Track"

Just kidding, but it's coming soon.