John Ashcroft, the attorney general, who was the first Republican to win two US Senate terms from Missouri, who then lost an election to a dead person (mostly a sympathy vote) was the Attorney General who attracted considerable criticism for having the statues covered up. Certainly not my favorite, but not evil.
John Ashcroft replaced Janet Reno, the wicked witch of Waco, who deported Elian Gonzales at gunpoint.
Well, he got replaced by Bush friend Alberto Gonzales, who found the Geneva Convention "quaint" and who is a Habeas Corpus Denier.
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No right of Habeas Corpus
On January 18 2007, Gonzales was invited to speak to the Senate Judiciary Committee where he shocked the committee's ranking member, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, by stating that there was no right of Habeas Corpus in the United States Constitution.
In short, Habeas Corpus is the right of an individual to have a trial before he is jailed. It is the protection against arbitrary imprisonment. Without Habeas Corpus you have no right to tell anyone you have been arrested, you have no right to legal counsel, you have no right to protest your innocence or even mistaken identity. Most Constitutional Scholars believe the right of habeas is the very foundation of our legal system, where none are supposed to be above the law and none beneath it.
The most likely explanation of why this statement shocked the Senator is that he is familiar with the 2nd Clause of Section 9 of Article One of the Constitution of the United States which reads: "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."
An excerpt of the exchange follows:
GONZALES: The fact that the Constitution — again, there is no express grant of habeas in the Constitution. There is a prohibition against taking it away. But it’s never been the case, and I’m not a Supreme —
SPECTER: Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute. The Constitution says you can’t take it away, except in the case of rebellion or invasion. Doesn’t that mean you have the right of habeas corpus, unless there is an invasion or rebellion?
A video of the exchange, as well as a more complete transcript can be found on Think Progress. "Gonzales: There Is No Express Grant of Habeas Corpus In The Constitution", Think Progress, January 18, 2007.
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Gonzales is making friends everywhere :
Several members of both houses of Congress have publicly said Gonzales should resign, or be fired by Bush. Following is the list, which continues to be updated:[citation needed]
Most of the calls for Gonzales' departure have come from Democrats:
* Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), "no credibility"
* Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), "completely incompetent"
* Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), "height of irresponsibility"
* Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), "loyalty to Bush not needed; must quit"
* Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), "failure to understand his job"
* Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) "mastery of rules needed; mastery of loyalty [towards Bush] not needed"
* Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), "no support with anyone"
* Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), "change in leadership needed"
* Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR), "has broken faith with me ... (and) with the Senate ..."[5], "personally lied to me, he needs to leave, now!"
* Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), Senate Majority Leader, "will leave within a month or so, one way or another"
* Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Chairman of DSCC, First U.S. Senator to call for resignation, "inability to understand his role"
* Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of House Judiciary Committee
Some Republicans have also called for Gonzales to leave:
* Sen. John E. Sununu (R-NH), first Republican senator to call for firing, "strong, aggressive leadership lacking, needs to resign or be fired"
* Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), "someone competent needed there [Department of Justice]"
* Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), "warning sign ... change is needed"
* Rep. Paul Gillmor (R-OH), "resignation better for Department of Justice"
* Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-MI), "a close friend (President Bush) ... should offer resignation"
* Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE), "I trusted him before, but I can't now" [6]
One other Republican congressman, Tom Tancredo (R-CO), has also called for Gonzales' departure due to a percieved lack of vigor in combatting illegal immigration.
In addition, several Republicans have been critical of Gonzales, while not actually calling for his resignation or firing.
* Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), suggested that Gonzales could "die by a thousand cuts"
* Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), citing his actions as "idiocy" [7]
* Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), Chairman of NRSC "incompetence," "they blew it"
* Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), "improperly handled"
* Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), "could have been more clear," "some things just don't add up"
* Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), "cloud hanging over his credibility"
* Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), "mistakes made"
* Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), "bungled"
* Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), Senate Minority Whip, "statements seem dubious"
Well, John Ashcroft looks much better than Reno or Gonzales. Probably the only one I might want to have at my house.
Notice how the Bush Team has gone from Conservative stick in the muds to Incompetent & Evil. |
