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President Bush versus the Democrats’ phony attorneys scandal
Bobby Eberle
The media vultures are circling in Washington, DC. They smell blood and are looking to pounce — this time on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. But is there a “controversy” or “crisis” here? The answer is “no”… and “yes.”
At the heart of the latest dust-up in Washington is the news that the Bush administration, through Gonzales’ Justice Department, fired eight federal prosecutors. The Democrats are screaming that the firings were politically motivated and want Gonzales to resign. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that the actions were illegal.
Should Gonzales resign? Maybe so… but not because anything illegal was done. No… a whole host of administration officials should move on to less stressful employment, because, time and time again, they seem unable to handle basic communications issues and get out a message that makes sense. As noted in a FOX News story U.S. attorneys are the “chief federal law enforcement officials in their districts.”
[The U.S. attorneys] typically are appointed to four-year terms by the president on the recommendation of state political leaders, but — like the attorney general and other Cabinet officers — they serve at the pleasure of the president and can be dismissed at any time.
FOX News notes that both Ronald Reagan (in 1981) and Bill Clinton (in 1993) fired all sitting U.S. attorneys and appointed new ones. President Bush did not conduct a similar house-cleaning when he came into office in 2001.
Now, the administration, particularly Gonzales, is under fire because eight U.S. attorneys were dismissed. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid joined a growing list of Democrats calling for Gonzales to resign. Others include presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. “It’s wrong, it’s unethical, it’s immoral. I believe it’s criminal. And Gonzales should be fired,” Reid said.
Democrats want to question top White House officials immediately, and sent letters to Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, former White House counsel Harriet Miers and deputy White House counsel William Kelley late Tuesday to appear before lawmakers.
“We would like to work out a process for you to make yourself available to the committee for interviews, depositions, or hearing testimony, on a voluntary basis, and to produce documents in your possession, control, or custody related to our investigation,” according to the letter sent to Rove.
Immoral? Criminal? Give me a break. This situation is nowhere near criminal, yet because the Democrats are barking, the administration is running scared. President Bush could have simply told the media, “I decided to bring new appointees in. As president, I’m entitled to do so any time I see fit, and that is what we are doing.” Instead, President Bush and Gonzales put their collective tails between their legs and stated that “mistakes” were made and that “things weren’t handled correctly.” Come on! This is exactly what members of the media want to see: Republicans running scared.
In a story running at CNSNews.com, Rush Limbaugh is quoted from his radio show as saying it’s a “great lesson” on “how to respond when you’re under some sort of silly attack.”
Unfortunately, the administration is failing the lesson. The
CNSNews.com story notes that none of the major networks during their interviews with Gonzales mentioned Clinton’s actions in firing all 93 U.S. attorneys. Clinton fires 93, and it’s fine. Bush fires 8, and it’s a crisis! Come on guys… fight back!
Perhaps some resignations should be pursued. Perhaps certain individuals should be fired, but not because of some crazy accusations by the Democrats. No, what we need is a communications team with backbone and officials who know what they are doing and are not simply Bush tools.
Bobby Eberle is President and CEO of GOPUSA
BrookesNews.Com
Monday 26 March 2007