Conservatives Who Called For Gonzales’ Resignation Silent On No-Confidence Vote
Conservatives Who Called For Gonzales’ Resignation Silent On No-Confidence Vote
If the Senate moves ahead with a no-confidence vote on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales next week as planned, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has already made clear he will “tie up the Senate floor with all kinds of procedural mischief and introduce any number of amendments.”
McConnell has also cracked the whip and brought his caucus into line. Roll Call reports today that none of the six conservative senators who have called for Gonzales to resign have said they will vote for the measure.
Six GOP Senators have gone on the record essentially demanding Gonzales’ resignation, and one of them — Sen. Tom Coburn (Okla.) — already has declared he’ll vote against the nonbinding no-confidence resolution.
The five others — Sens. John Sununu (N.H.), Chuck Hagel (Neb.), Gordon Smith (Ore.), John McCain (Ariz.) and Norm Coleman (Minn.) — were unwilling to tip their hands about how they will vote, despite repeated attempts to contact them last week.
All five undeclared senators have offered harsh words for Gonzales in the past, garnering press attention and bolstering their image:
Sen. John Sununu (R-NH): “The president should fire the attorney general and replace him as soon as possible with someone who can provide strong, aggressive leadership.”
Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE): “The American people deserve an Attorney General, the chief law enforcement officer of our country, whose honesty and capability are beyond question. Attorney General Gonzales can no longer meet this standard. He has failed this country. He has lost the moral authority to lead.”
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ): “I think that out of loyalty to the president that that [resignation] would probably be the best thing that he could do.”
Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR)- “For the Justice Department to be effective before the U.S. Senate, it would be helpful.”
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN): “I don’t believe that Gonzales has the type of leadership that the department needs.“
Now, forced to choose accountability over party loyalty, these senators have gone silent.
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71 Responses to “Conservatives Who Called For Gonzales’ Resignation Silent On No-Confidence Vote”
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No spine at all. Why not take a stand against a sinking President at least on this issue? It's such a no brainer. Then you can go back to your district in '08 and say "See I'm not with the President on EVERYTHING!!!"
Oh well, let them go down with the ship.
June 4th, 2007 at 9:43 amImagine how many crimes the Bush Cabal can commit in the next 696 days.
June 4th, 2007 at 9:48 amJust for once the GOPers in DC need to do something decent and impeach Gonzales.
June 4th, 2007 at 9:48 amGOP blackmail! These infamous "six" whimps need to be cleaned from office immediately. If they are incapable of walking their own talk, then they are nothing more than empty hypocrites. The people are getting tired of listening to a bunch of emasculated fools posturing as legitimate representatives. It's beginning to look like this Congress is no more authentic than the last one which, by a long shot, was THE most corrupt congress ever in the history of this country.
Keep it up, fools, and you will soon find yourselves out of a job and on the street! As for Mitch McConnell, he's a dynosaur and the worst bigot in this congress. Anything Mitch touches turns to crapola.
June 4th, 2007 at 9:49 amChickenhawks are chickenshits, plain & simple.
The only stand they're willing to take is their own pulpit.
June 4th, 2007 at 9:49 amMorning Kay - Precisely my thoughts. Since this spineless Congress is incapable of standing up to the corruption of the Bush Cabal when they clearly control congress, one can only imagine what chicanery and diabolical things will come out of the next 600+ days of this "age of tyranny"! One can only shudder to imagine how much farther this country will descend.....one can only cringe at the level of evil and corruption which we already know to be fact and grow this exponentially into the next two years. I fear that this country is heading down the aisle of doom and, given two more years of this level of corruption, will fail to recognize itself in two years. I fail to comprehend why Impeachment has been off the table - and has been according to Pelosi and the dems. Their excuse of how much time and energy it will take away from the "tasks at hand"; i.e., investigations of scandals is a "smokescreen" (I fear) and the real reason they are not pursuing it at this time is that the GOP has such "dirt" on all of them via the illegal wiretapping program that they are being blackmailed into silence and complicity.
June 4th, 2007 at 9:53 amNo suprise there.
This type of conduct is just SOP for our fine elected officials.
After being caught commiting crimes, they need very little defence.
June 4th, 2007 at 9:54 amA few dozen 'I can't recalls' seem to be all that is necessary.
As evidenced by Garbonzo's testimony.
Mitch McConnell is the most owned member of the Senate. He is in bed with every CEO crud in America. Mitch is a criminal political whore.
June 4th, 2007 at 9:54 amMaybe they got the call from KKKarl threatening to expose the "irregularities" in their re-elections.........
June 4th, 2007 at 9:55 amThen just skip this stupid non-binding no-confidence vote and go directly to impeachment. Gonzo lied under oath time and again, so let these weak-kneed GOPers demonstrate to the whole country that they don't care about the rule of law, especially when it comes to the Attorney General!
PEACE
June 4th, 2007 at 9:57 am#5 Agreed....they are spineless sycophants, that's been clear for years now. However, can we now add a few democrats to that spineless list? I fear so. I contend that this congress has "sold out" the american people whose mandate was clear. As some of the more candid candidates said last night (and were almost hushed up by Wolf)....this war could have been stopped immediately by control of the purse strings and was not. Why reward any of these 'forked tongue hypocrites' with our vote? As much as I would like to put my head in the sand of ignorance and apathy, I cannot do so and have to continually remind myself that these guys absolutely "knuckled under" and gave into to the dictator....the decider trumped them and they betrayed the people who put them into the majority.
Right now I'm extremely disappointed in ALL of them and believe that those who voted "yes" to engage us in this amoral, illegal war which is tanking this country day by day along with those who recently voted "yes" to continue this genocide need to be reprimanded heartily and rejected at the polls......that includes Hillary, Edwards, Biden for their first vote (along with all of the Rethugs, of course)....which leaves us with whom??
I'd love to see a Gore/Feingold ticket because these two guys are so far above the fray that they have no contamination on them or fallout from this criminal war.
June 4th, 2007 at 9:59 amI kind of thought we should be talking about charges of perjury. " I don't recall or I don't remember " is the same as lying under oath is it not ? What the heck is a no confidence vote anyway ? But hey that's just me, and what do I know?
June 4th, 2007 at 10:01 amPlllllease the democrats define spinelessness as is proven by their funding of the war. The republican failure to support what is essentially a partisian attempt to give the President a political black eye is no surprise.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:02 amWhere did TP find that pic of Gonzales? Alberto is a smug S.O.B. and believes he can do anything as long as Bush baby backs him. What a pair the both of them are together. George the former male cheerleader and Alberto who had long hair like a girl in high school > they are both fem and to bad the press is to stupid to notice.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:03 amThis is patently obvious: The longer this Gonzo creep remains in control of our judicial system, the more damage he is doing to every Republican candidate. The longer the Bush Cabal remains in power, there will be no reason for any Republican to even run a campaign.
And, the longer this war drags on and destroys our own country, it will take an individual of herculean proportions to even begin the reconstruction process, if it is even possible at this point as the tipping balance has been breached long ago. Anyone taking the job of cleaning up after this crusade of corruption is doomed to failure, that's becoming clear.
I would have to believe that these Dems knuckled under to Bush in order to do precisely that. It's a bit of "reverse psychology" - as long as the war is front and center, absolutely NO republican will be elected to ANY office in this country. Perhaps that's why they postured as being "tough" and then "caved"??
June 4th, 2007 at 10:04 amCowardly spineless MoFos, and that goes for those six Senators, too.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:06 amAnd exactly why should I be surprised?
June 4th, 2007 at 10:09 am#12 We all know that the statement "I can't recall" is perjury at it's most subtle level. Of course, they remember what they've done. And, if they do not, why the hell are they remaining in office? Doesn't the taxpayer "pay them to remember"??? When was the last time you were called into your boss's office and asked what you'd done?? When was the last time you said "I can't recall" and were still kept on the job and paid for your services? When was the last time you were rewarded for "temporary amnesia"? This country needs to wake up!
Of course, the statements of "I don't remember" need to be punished. If they lie under oath (saying I don't remember when they do remember) is perjury - clear and simple.
And, if under psychiatric counseling, they are found to have lapses in memory, then they need to be put out to pasture.....basketweaving 101!
June 4th, 2007 at 10:09 amSleazy Gonzales......What a weasel. And the Repuds are pathetic. The Dems not much better.
A Kakistocracy at it's acme.
-GSD
June 4th, 2007 at 10:10 amIf I were Mitch, I wouldn't be making a spectacle of my own hypocrisy and level of corruption, would you? Be careful what you ask for, Mitchey Boy, because soon YOU will be the focal point of the next criminal investigation. As the adage goes, Mitch: "PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULDN'T THROW STONES".... Your "gig" is up soon so you'd better get your own ducks in a row and stop trying to blackmail your colleagues. Blackmail is still a crime in this country the last time I looked.....
June 4th, 2007 at 10:11 amveritas > If Democrats believe they can be spineless to win in 2008, then they figured wrong. I will not even bother to vote if given a choice between corrupt GOPers and spineless DEMs.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:13 amCowards, all. But then again, they're Republicans. Should we expect different?
June 4th, 2007 at 10:15 amSo at what point are Reid and the Democrats going to change the Senate rules to prevent this type of thing from happening?
More to the point, given the nonsense that occurred with the last Congress, why didn't the Democrats use these same maneuvers to tie up Republican legislation?
June 4th, 2007 at 10:16 amSkip the damned vote. I'd rather have not come to the floor at all, than see Gonzo get his vote of confidence.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:17 amI guess the people of Kentucky have no shame.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:18 amVeritas
June 4th, 2007 at 10:19 amI hope you will remember Hillary's amnesia whwn it comes time to vote.
Wouldn't the vote still come out with a majority voting no confidence?
June 4th, 2007 at 10:19 amOh, I forgot, Lieberman (I-Israel)...Shit.
And we are all supposed to believe that the Democrats are cowards? Seems like the Republicans have a nice little streak of yellow down their spine where integrity ought to go. As always, party before country. Politicians suck!
June 4th, 2007 at 10:24 amanother reason why hagel can't be trusted,
June 4th, 2007 at 10:25 ameven as a "moderate" - he isn't.
...
Cowards! Every last one of them. That anyone who has a functioning brain would follow the lead of a low-life like McConnell is beyond my comprehension. If you are a repugnant and a bushie to boot then all you do is follow the party line. The nation and the will of the people be damned. They follow the same view as the cretin in the WH 'I don't care what the people say I'll do what I want, like the spoiled brat that I am." George Bush Sr. should be brought up on charges along with Babs for inflicting this mess on the rest of us.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:27 amNo Way man ...... when it comes to actually doing something that is contrary to party policy they hesitate? Oh My! what is the world coming to?
June 4th, 2007 at 10:28 amJay and DogJudge: I believe we're answering our own questions here. Surely, the Dems could have tied things up but, for whatever reason, they chose not to and, instead, truly disappointed the american people. Now americans cannot trust them either with their confidence. One can only guess why those chose to knuckle under but as far as I can imagine, no honest reason exists except that we must conclude that they are as devious and complicit in the war profiteering as the Rethugs.
JayRandall: I'm with you on the vote situation. I don't feel a legitimate level of trust with any of the dem candidates at this point - I like something about each of them but nothing about the entire package of any of them.
As for the Republicans, they are totally out of the question....unless perhaps Hagel joins the Indpendent Party?? Then I feel he'd be worth taking a look at. As for the rest of the republican candidates, they're all thugs even the newly-christened actor politico they plan as their "great hope". His viewpoints, along with mafioso Guiliani are downright frightening!! Worse than Bush??? Perhaps!
This is why I believe someone will enter this race late and make it their own.....some great american patriot like Al Gore.....perhaps he's the only one who can really save the planet and save this country at the same time.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:30 amIf I were a voter in any of their districts I would also have no confidence in their reelection either.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:31 amTwo faces have they.
What's cinched me against Hillary - along with her inability to admit her own fallibility (as we've watched Dubya's lack of personal insight and culpability destroy this country) - is the fact that she used the excuse of not having read the bill in it's entirety before voting on it....cop out extraordinaire!
June 4th, 2007 at 10:32 amI see this hasn't been said yet, and I feel it's very important:
WHORES!!
June 4th, 2007 at 10:32 am#31 Bill: This is precisely why I contend that our current two party system is obsolete. Where are those who represent the majority of americans in this congress? Where are those individuals with a conscience and a sense of human dignity? We see plenty of Bushbot loyalty which is akin to serious brainwashing but where are our independent thinkers? Gone from Congress, that's obvious.
Time for a third party to rise up and represent the middle class. Time for a third party to come foward and accept the challenge of reconstructing the constitution which is has been the basis of this democracy. If it doesn't occur in '08, then we will find ourselves at the bottom of the global heap. After all, we are just about 40% owned by Communist China right now.....will they call this debt due and payable when we have no resources left to do so? Then what happens next????
June 4th, 2007 at 10:36 amYou all are worked up over pure speculation as to how the six will vote. Go back and actually read Roll Calls post.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:37 amEven if they voted as speculated it is a non binding vote which would serve no purpose than to weaken the President and hence their own power. If you think the Dems or you yourself would behave any differently in the same situation you are either stupid or you are deluding yourself.
Hi Zooey - you beat me to the punch! Whore so aptly describes them, doesn't it? But I'm beginning to realize that we've got more of a "whoring problem" in Congress than we'd even realized and some of the "shapeshifters" are, indeed, sycophant whores as well. There are democrats who are also whores, sad to discover - but discover we will and sooner than later.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:37 amThis is beginning to sound like a gorey plot from a B movie or a sub-par attempt at a new fictional work entitled: "A Confederacy of Whoremongers and Dunces" - time to get back to my writing....have a great day, TP friends! Peace!
June 4th, 2007 at 10:40 amUntil our 'representation' is actual representation, and not a bunch of rich elitists serving their own self-interests, this will be our status quo.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:40 am#37 Thanks for the suggestion and "speculation" it is; however, this is "speculation based on probability" and the probability is, as history has proven, that Republican enjoy speaking with forked tongue - talking a good talk but when it truly comes to "walking that talk", they are proven to be sycophantic windbags. Sad, but true. Check the statistics.....it will bear this theory out handily and quickly.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:42 amWhat stat did Hillary quote vis-a-vis the corporate elite? I believe she said that "ten percent are enjoying 50% of the wealth in this country". All you need do is travel to large cities in this country and see for yourself that the middle class has almost totally eroded into poverty and that the "lying, stealing, cheating elite" are living like royalty. Anyone who has read some of the work of Emile Durkheim (Division of Labor in Industry, etc.) will see how this is a prescription for disaster. And we thought we had great intellects representing us?? Guess again! This has been the most successful "coup" by the fascists ever in the history of this country.
Bush's lineage (Prescott, his grandfather) owned the company which produced the gas used for extermination in the gas chambers of the third reich.....the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as they say. Google him and see for yourself.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:45 amJay Randal -your comments are so politically astute. Why don't you take some time off - from posting.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:48 ammorning gang...not much i can add that hasn't already been said better than i could say it on a monday morning.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:51 amThere are democrats who are also whores, sad to discover - but discover we will and sooner than later.
Comment by veritas — June 4, 2007 @ 10:37 am
Hi veritas. All of this political crap is frustrating the hell out of me. All these rich politicians have forgotten who put them there -- we the people.
And the people have forgotten that the politicians work for US! Grrrr!
BTW, apologies to any whores I may have offended in #35.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:51 amYou can believe that Gonzales should resign and still believe that this so-called "no-confidence vote" is a political stunt in which you should not participate.
The U.S. Senate has never held a "no-confidence vote." Such a vote is sanctioned nowhere in the Constitution. The Constitution provides only that the Senate may approve or reject a presidentially nomianted civil officer or impeach said officer.
"No-confidence votes" are useful and effective only in a parliamentary government. It has no function or purpose under the U.S. form of government, in which power is separated between the generally elected executive and the locally elected legislature.
This is an exercise in pure silliness and grandstanding by the Senate Democrats. The Republican senators who have called for Gonzales to resign are correct to refuse to participate in this extra-constitutional, perhaps unconstitutional, stunt.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:51 amGutless Dems, I am so sick and tired of these do nothings, they have the most corrupt and damaging administration this country has ever seen and at every step of the way they get poked in the eye by the minority and are left with nothing more than rhetoric instead of action.
Damm it, move and do something for a change! We have had enough!
June 4th, 2007 at 10:52 amLOL whatever Gus > I used to send faxes on daily basis to Congress, but have given up because most politicians in DC are whores like Zooey said.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:53 ammorning gang…not much i can add that hasn’t already been said better than i could say it on a monday morning.
Comment by labs
Good morning, labs. Told ya TP is like herion.... :)
June 4th, 2007 at 11:00 amComment by Exley — June 4, 2007 @ 10:51 am
Exley,
Do you think Gonzo should resign?
Yes or no, will be fine.
June 4th, 2007 at 11:01 amZooey,
Yes.
(But if I were a senator and felt this way, I would still not participate in a no-confidence vote because it is meaningless and has no basis in the Constitution).
June 4th, 2007 at 11:05 amI'm sick of all this "non-binding" crap! Republicans pull shit like this “tie up the Senate floor with all kinds of procedural mischief and introduce any number of amendments.†and turning the lights out on committes, force hearing to convene in the basement and Democrats are afraid to make a vote binding or the so called "benchmarks" that are part of the supplemental that the president signed, of course, non-binding also.
So let me get this straight.....
When Gonzales has been shown to have lied under oath, the best that we can come up with is a non binding, no confidence vote? I understand the need for a vote but non-binding? Non-binding benchmarks for a government that the majority voted for us to leave?
June 4th, 2007 at 11:05 amNow, forced to choose accountability over party loyalty, these senators have gone silent.
Hey at least they opted for party loyaly and not corruption when they abandoned accountability.
June 4th, 2007 at 11:20 amFor the latest news, document dumps, email archives, hearing transcripts and other essential materials in the firings of U.S. attorneys, see:
June 4th, 2007 at 11:27 am"The U.S. Attorney Scandal Documents."
Comment by Exley — June 4, 2007 @ 11:05 am
Thanks for the "yes."
How did I know you couldn't possibly give a one-word answer? Hah!
June 4th, 2007 at 11:33 amYes.
(But if I were a senator and felt this way, I would still not participate in a no-confidence vote because it is meaningless and has no basis in the Constitution).
Comment by Exley
There's nothing in the Constitution about appearing at ribbon-cuttings, either, but Senators do that when appropriate. Sometimes, symbolic gestures have value.
June 4th, 2007 at 11:34 am#55 Zooey,
Well, I put the rest of the e-mail in parentheses, so that doesn't really count!
June 4th, 2007 at 11:37 amNo Confidence, my ass. That SOB should be impeached, prosecuted, and imprisoned! Along with all the rest of this criminal administration.
But the SPINELESS DEMOCRATS won't do it, because they suck almost as much as the scumpublicans.
June 4th, 2007 at 11:45 ama) A no confidence vote is pretty worthless. Gonzo is the only buffer Bush has for trying to use the justice department to rig elections. The worse Gonzo looks, the less blame Bush gets. Gonzo will not resign, nor will he be forced to resign.
b) The only way for Gonzo not to serve out his term is impeachment. Unfortunately, there are not enough votes for that. Too bad a few red state congressmen are benefiting from this kind of abuse at justice, and even more are benefiting from the ensuing polarized political environment. If normal people were closer together in the US, the liberals would have their arguments listened to, rather than being demonized and dismissed. If liberal arguments are listened to, honestly, these republican congressmen will be out of jobs.
Sadly, there's no way around it. Reckoning day '08 is what we have to hope (and work) for...
June 4th, 2007 at 11:50 amand you were absolutely right zooey!
time for my next fix. ;)
June 4th, 2007 at 11:59 amAccording to m12 everything is fabulous in Bushlandia, as long as you drink the spiked Bush Kool-Aid.
June 4th, 2007 at 12:03 pmCowards.
June 4th, 2007 at 1:54 pmDANG!! Looks like the repugs have taken a page out of the dumbocrats playbook! I LOVE being a constitutionalist and seeing how both sides are screwing the American public, ans then blaming the others.. ROTFLMAO
June 4th, 2007 at 1:59 pmI just wrote my senator, Gordon Smith and gave him an earful. Gonzales is an embarassment to the Bush administration and the entire country. What a shill.
June 4th, 2007 at 2:08 pmI say let McConnell tie up congress with mischief. It will just make the Republics look like the obstructionists they really are. The people are on to you Republics. Pulling tricks like you are proposing will only make you look worse than you do right now. I say go for it. One more nail in the coffin of what was once the Republic party.
June 4th, 2007 at 3:19 pmNorm Coleman (R-MN) stated most clearly on Twin Cities Public TV's Almanac show on 5/18/2007 that he has no confidence in Alberto Gonzales and that he should resign. He made several other printed statements, but written Norm-speak is usually not very illuminating.
However, its not surprising that Norm might not vote for the resolution. Just because he's clearly positioned himself in a certain way doesn't mean that he will actually follow through.
He has remained very loyal to the Bush Administration during his tenure and it wouldn't be surprising for him to continue. I've got more details on this at the:
Norm Coleman Weasel Meter
June 4th, 2007 at 4:51 pmGREAT!
I can't wait for TV political campaign when they are up for relection reminding voters of their "silence" or no vote.
They are going to be outseted big time from their offices!
The bush ship continues to sink ... and they will go down with him. :-)
June 4th, 2007 at 6:15 pmMembers of the GOP are not just crooked, they are stupid. If they do not do the right thing, stomp Gonzales into the ground, they will be voted from office in 2008.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:50 pmQuit whining about all of this.. instead go to the heart of the matter.
Gonzales is NOT enforcing US laws as his oath of office requires. If he were, we would not have been invaded by 20 million illegals. Impeach him for that alone.
Firing US attys is his and Presidents legal authority. So get over that.
Then after you get Gonzo, go get Bush for failure to stop an invasion and to expel invaders. That is Bushes legal responsibility.
Problem then solved.
June 5th, 2007 at 8:58 amHow far does it have to go before the Senators themselves can be said to be conspiring to obstruct justice? That's what it looked like they were doing during the time that the Republicans had a majority, and they are STILL doing it.
They are all guilty of treason. They have pledged to uphold and defend the constitution, but seem more concerned with whatever secret oaths they have sworn to the Republican Party, Skull and Bones, Big Oil, and whoever else lurks in the shadows.
Bastards!!
June 5th, 2007 at 11:50 amWhat a bunch of wimps we now have in Washington. You vote Republican to try and preserve what little is left of hope for America and decency and they turn around and play political games failing to dump an Attorney General who is a disgrace and also are caving in on the issue of amnesty for illegals. I will never again vote for another Republican
June 12th, 2007 at 4:16 pm