Mukasey Is (Much) Worse Than Gonzales

[nebula]

Source: The Nation

...Like Gonzales, Mukasey refuses to accept that the president of the United States must abide by the laws of the land, beginning with the Constitution. In fact, the nominee to replace the worst Attorney General since Calvin Coolidge forced Harry Micajah Daugherty to quit rather than face impeachment is actually takes a more extreme position in defense of an imperial presidency than did Gonzales.

When questioned by Judiciary Committee chair Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont and Constitution sub-committee chair Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, during the key hearing on his nomination, Mukasey embraces an interpretation of presidential authority so radical that it virtually guarantees more serious abuses of power by the executive branch.

There is no question that one of the ugliest manifestations of that expansion of authority involves the Bush-Cheney administration’s embrace of extraordinary rendition and torture as tools for achieving its ends. But those who focus too intensely on Mukasey’s troubling dance around the waterboarding question make a mistake. Even if the nominee were to embrace the Geneva Conventions — not to mention the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution — and condemn all forms of torture as the cruel and unusual punishment that they are, he would still be an entirely unacceptable choice to serve as the nation’s chief law-enforcement officer...

...Under questioning from Feingold, Mukasey endorsed the administration’s argument that congressional attempts to define appropriate surveillance strategies and techniques could infringe inappropriately on presidential authority...

Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/05/5034/

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Mukasey makes Gonzales look like the Easter Bunny.

[fasttense]

1. Long live the King of the United States. n/t

[Teaser]

2. this is an opinion piece

maybe you want to move it to one of the discussion forums.

[saigon68]

4. Its still true tho

This guy is another in a long line of Fascist Nazi nut cases like

[Teaser]

10. true yes, but not LBN

.

[Gman]

3. Not LBN

[saigon68]

11. No problem there

Its now in another place

[Massachusetts]

5. 46 years ago a warning was issued I think applies here, we didn't listen.

"in the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961

[The Stranger]

6. Kill the Mukasey nomination. Boycott and oppose any Democrats who confirm him.

Get out the grass roots in the primaries to make them pay.

We cannot become the torture party.

[Hydra]

7. I knew this would happen

Gonzo was so much worse than Ashcroft(and I thought that was impossible), but seeing that it was only a matter of time before Gonzo was forced out or quit, they had plenty of time to groom a replacement that would be even more pliable.

Sickening. More sickening since he'll probably be confirmed. Our reps just can't seem to say "NO!" to Bush.

[IndianaGreen]

8. Mukasey believes in an imperial Presidency, that Bush is the law!

Mukasey is an anglo version of Gonzales.

[0007]

9. No difference between the two....Right on!

Under questioning from Feingold, Mukasey endorsed the administration’s argument that congressional attempts to define appropriate surveillance strategies and techniques could infringe inappropriately on presidential authority.

When pressed by Feingold, Mukasey refused to say whether he thought the president could order a violation of federal wiretapping rules. Feingold’s response was measured. “I find your equivocation here somewhat troubling,” said the senator.

In fact, everything about Mukasey’s testimony suggested that he would as Attorney General be more of a threat to Constitutional governance than the inept and frequently inarticulate Gonzales. Mukasey gives every indication that he is as enthusiastic as was Gonzales about helping the president to bend and break they law. The scary thing is that Mukasey appears to be a good deal abler when it comes to cloaking lawlessness in a veneer of legal uncertainty.

We're so screwed.

[napi21]

12. I guess we'll see who's right, but I don't see Mukasey as QUITE as

bad as Gonzo. He appears to have a LOT more intelligence than Gonzo ever hoped for. Gonzo was an absolute YES MAN to EVERYTHNG! I have the feeling, behind closed doors, Mukasey will at least voice his opinion. I also think he's better than many of the others who Shrub was supposed to be looking at, like Olsen!!!!

I guess time will tell, and thank God we'll only have a little over a year to watch him.

[Cha]

14. That's the problem..he probably is

more intelligent which wouldn't be hard to do and therefore will be able to talk his way out with his cleverness and hold up better under the congressional lights. That's why he's worse just like tony snow was worse than scotty as presser sec cause he could weasel better.

[DCKit]

13. Strongly tied to the Federalists and smarter than Gonzo. Scary. nt

[MasonJar]

15. If I am going to live under royalty, I will choose true royalty over white

trash any day. One more day of a Bush presidency after January 2009 and we should empty the country. I for one will be deserting the ship. They can send my tax bill off shore, but to no avail. King George stayed in London during the Blitz as did his queen and his daughters (to be with their people.) Elizabeth has set a worthy standard, starting with her work during WWII. Prince Charles is an incredible environmentalist. In DC we have a piece of privileged pond scum, who never did an honest days work and could not even succeed when the way was gifted to him time and again. He MUST go...........straight to jail or the Hague. Hitler had nothing on the Bush cartel...even if he was their favorite.

[bhikkhu]

16. and it is democrats that will confirm this one

on this, I have to confess to a "throw the bastards" out attitude. If the party is this stupid, this oblivious, this indifferent, what the hell good are they...