Political Games - Where the fuck’s the reset button?

Keeping tabs on this story since it’s so important, Glenn had an update himself that I’ll be drawing from and then adding my own commentary. I know it seems like I’m beating a dead horse here, but this really is critical and the media coverage on it is truly telling.

First, if you couldn’t stomach watching the video, there’s a transcript over here. It’s not as revolting without being able to hear their infantile giggling, but you can get the idea. Just insert *giggle* at random intervals.

Second, as Steve Benen [who did the transcript] notes, these aren’t just some insignificant, silly fringe pundits (or worse, the dreaded anonymous commenter!!!!). These are some of the most powerful influential “journalists”. Chris Matthews of course has his own show on MSNBC and pretty much shows up at every special they do [such as Election Night coverage]. Norah O’Donnell also works for MSNBC as its chief D.C. correspondent. Richard Stengel is the editor of Time magazine [note: it was Jay Carney of Time who initially dismissed those silly lefty concerns about the attorneys]. Gloria Borger is one of the major political correspondents for CBS News and has her own column at U.S. News and World Report. Lastly, Pat Healy is a reporter for the New York Times. These guys are heavyweights in the media sphere, and they are completely dismissing a major scandal at the Department of Justice as “small bore politics” by the Democrats.

Which brings us to the biggest point here. The main thesis of these “serious” pundits was that the American people oppose investigations and that it would be bad politics for them to do so. First, that’s a LIE:

14. Do you think Congress should — or should not — investigate the involvement of White House officials in this matter?

Yes, should - 72%; No, should not - 21%

15. If Congress investigates these dismissals, in your view, should President Bush and his aides — [ROTATED: invoke “executive privilege” to protect the White House decision making process (or should they) drop the claim of executive privilege and answer all questions being investigated]?

Invoke executive privilege - 26%; Answer all questions - 68%

16. In this matter, do you think Congress should or should not issue subpoenas to force White House officials to testify under oath about this matter?

Yes, should - 68%; No, should not - 24%

Second, even if the American people were generally opposed to Congress investigating the Executive’s actions here, it would be the right thing to do. To NOT do so would be an abandonment of their Constitutional duty. Glenn says it better than I do:

The reason Democrats ought to compel Rove to testify under oath is not because it will benefit Democrats politically. The reason that’s necessary is because there are (as Cox herself has ably argued) extremely serious accusations of wrongdoing here that go to the heart of how our government functions, and Rove clearly played a role in those events. Moreover, the administration in this very case has demonstrated a propensity to lie about what occurred. And the administration is generally untrustworthy. After all, just last month, Dick Cheney’s top aide was convicted of four felony counts of perjury, false statements, and obstruction of justice.

Under the circumstances, and given the stakes of this scandal, it would be a total abdication of the duty of Congressional oversight not to compel Rove’s testimony in a public forum and under rules where it is more difficult for him to lie. And that’s true regardless of whether it’s politically beneficial.

That’s exactly right. It doesn’t matter if it endangered our majority to do this, or if it would endanger it if [ok, WHEN], sometime down the road, Congress is faced with the necessity of investigate serious Democratic wrongdoing. They must do so, and they must be thorough and vicious. Our democracy demands no less.

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As you know, I’ve written about the fired attorney scandal that’s been brewing for the past few months and seems to finally be coming to a head. It’s entirely possible there’s an innocent explanation for all this, but the current evidence definitely suggests otherwise. Naturally, Congress wants more information and is trying to get the major players to testify so we can figure out what the fuck is going on. So you’d think this would get more play in the national press, right? Hah! In a sane world, maybe. The scandal was initially brushed off by Time magazine [I’ll find the link later] and all of the reporting was done by TPMMuckraker. And now…. ugh. Just watch below the fold.

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