The Senate majority hasn’t shaken off its euphoria from the last elections. First they act like generals and try to micromanage the war in Iraq and now they try to micromanage the functions of the White House by disrupting the Justice Department.
The minority Republicans are wise to dig in their heels against the whims and fancies of the wannabe generals and Commander-in-Chiefs. The democrats are unwittingly chipping away at the bastion of the executive branch and trying to usurp its functions. White House spokesman is right in asserting the fact that the Justice Secretary works at the pleasure of the president, not the senate. The Justice Secretary has done no wrong, regardless of how much the Senate try to unearth any anomalies in the department.
The sponsor of the resolution for a vote of no confidence, Charles Schumer, is acting like a snake oil salesman trying to grab the limelight, and the Senate did the wise thing when the GOP blocks Gonzales no-confidence vote.
By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats blistered Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Monday with debate on a "no-confidence" resolution, but President Bush and fellow Republicans shrugged it all off as a waste of time.
No one predicted that the resolution would survive its test vote late in the day. But neither did Republicans or Democrats rush to defend Bush's longtime friend after he alienated even the White House's staunchest allies on a host of controversies — from the bungled firings of eight federal prosecutors to the handling of wiretapping authority under the USA Patriot Act.
Many Republican votes against the symbolic resolution apparently sprang from a fear of political retribution, not support of Gonzales.
"There is no confidence in the attorney general on this side of the aisle," said Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record) of Pennsylvania, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, announcing he would vote for the no-confidence resolution.
The debate itself shook loose another Republican call for new attorney general.
"I have lost confidence in the ability of Attorney General Gonzales to lead the
Department of Justice effectively," Sen. Susan Collins (news, bio, voting record), R-Maine, said in a statement. "I think his continued tenure does not benefit the department or our country."
Other Republicans complained that the Democratic resolution was an effort to pressure Bush into firing Gonzales — an unlikely prospect in light of Bush's strong continued support.
"They can have their votes of no confidence, but it's not going to make the determination about who serves in my government," Bush said in Sofia, Bulgaria, the last stop on a weeklong visit to Europe.
"This process has been drug out a long time," Bush added. "It's political."
The attorney general said he was paying no attention to the rhetoric on Capitol Hill.
"I am not focusing on what the Senate is doing," Gonzales said at a nuclear terrorism conference in Miami. "I am going to be focusing on what the American people expect of the attorney general of the United States and this great Department of Justice."
Democrats said it was only fair that senators give Gonzales an official up-or-down vote, especially after five GOP senators had called for the attorney general's resignation and many more had publicly criticized him.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., one of the resolution's sponsors, said any attorney general should uphold the law rather than the president's political priorities.
"The attorney general has not lived up to this standard, and he has lost our confidence," Feinstein said on the Senate floor.
So-called "no-confidence" votes on members of the executive branch are rare, in part because the Constitution mandates the separation of powers. The only way Congress can remove a presidential appointee is through impeachment.
Majority Democrats toned down the language in the one-sentence resolution to attract more support from Republicans.
"It is the sense of the Senate that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales no longer holds the confidence of the Senate and of the American people," read the measure, sponsored by Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Feinstein.
Sixty votes were required Monday to bring the resolution to a formal debate.
Republicans protested the measure on constitutional grounds. There was scarcely any defense of Gonzales himself.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (news, bio, voting record) called the debate a waste of time.
"It will have no impact on the tenure of the attorney general," McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters on a conference call.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (news, bio, voting record), R-Utah, did not defend Gonzales. He said the resolution failed constitutional and procedural tests and he took issue even with the notion that it accurately represented both houses of Congress or public sentiment.
"This joint resolution amounts to sound and fury, it signifies nothing," Hatch said on the Senate floor.
5 comments:
Politicians are the same the world over! But it is more blatant and obviously obnoxious in Pinas. Ours have been littered with buwayas from all ranks.
Hanapin mo, from top-to-bottom.
Take heart dear Cory. Buwayas exist for a reason. Once their numbers become unbearable, they will be rounded up for hide to make alligator shoes.
I hope your congress visit us here and give our Gonzalez a vote of no confidence.
schumey, I would not recommend that course of action for ONE very good reason. That will preempt my privilege, as well as you and other pinoys to kick around siRAULo. It would be frustrating, like having darts and no dartboard - don't you think?
But the old man is making the Justice Department a laughing stock not only of the entire Country but anyone who has common sense. He is a pain in the ass, so to speak.
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