Wouldn’t you know it? The thought of Ted Olsen as Attorney General sent the tingle of bad memories down my spine. The seed man for the Arkansas Project who sleazily hounded President Clinton from his first day in office didn’t seem to be the right choice for AG. – I mean, a partisan hack to oversee eternal AG scandal? Scandals ripping at the heart of our constitutional rights and privileges? I don’t think so. I’m entitled to my opinion. Thankfully, Harry Reid doomed the man’s nomination by saying publicly fuhgedaboudit.
And then along comes retired judge Michael Mukasey, a tough but articulate and well-grounded legal conservative. He comes into limited Progressive embrace by giving Bush the legal finger at times on the Padilla case...
Lest any confusion remain, this is not a suggestion or a request that Padilla be permitted to consult with counsel, and it is certainly not an invitation to conduct a further "dialogue" about whether he will be permitted to do so. It is a ruling -- a determination -- that he will be permitted to do so. www.salon.com
...so at least the guy has the balls to say "no" on occasion when the letter and intent of the law is clear and established.
To add a little fat to the fire, according to sfgate.com thru ThinkProgress.com both Olsen and Mukasey also happen to be legal advisors to Rudi Giuliani’s presidential campaign.
But here’s the funny part. While the Radical Religious Right -- the RRR – will accept a destructive and immoral partisan hack to be AG, they will not accept anyone who does not fall in line with their views on ... drum beat here ... could it be? ... another trip to the drying well? Yes, Abortion!
Brian Burch, president of the Catholic-based advocacy group Fidelis, said he started getting calls early Saturday from members of his group and other conservative groups who were worried that Bush was getting ready to nominate Mukasey. "His federal judicial record has been at times hostile to the issues that we care and have concern about, like abortion," Burch said. – my emphasis
So, here’s a guy who’s a moderate conservative’s bit of manna from heaven, could be vetted and approved by the Senate with minimal Democratic rumblings, but the RRR is shooting their toes off one at a time. Their "toe capital" was severely depleted by the Teri Shiavo incident, and they’re aiming again for the few that remain.
So, the RRR wanted political partisan hack Ted Olsen, but they’re getting Michael Makasey. And they’re willing to sabotage an acceptable nominee based on his perhaps not so draconian views on abortion.
Seems the RRR has done some triple-dipping here. They have at once 1) been the driving force behind an outright refusal to alter course in Iraq, thus sinking the Republican Party to near-term minority status, while at the same time, 2) have consistently been on the minority side on national issues, and 3) all but assure a Democratic president and super-majorities in both houses of Congress in 492 days.
492 days, folks. Give a shout out to the competition. They’re doing our work for us.