Dems May Delay Attorney General Replacement To Force White House's Hand
Here's another twist to the Gonzales tale: Sources in both parties are now telling Roll Call that the Dems are expected to stall on confirmation of Bush's nominee as a way of pressuring the White House into coughing up thousands of pages of documents related to various issues, including the Attorney Purge.
A footnote: The paper also notes that Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, who hasn't been on short-lists, is interested in the gig and has said as much to GOP Senate staffers.
Comments (4)
js wrote on September 10, 2007 1:08 PM:Does that mean Hatch wanted to retire too? I guess it will be hard to win his seat in mormon country.
DaveW wrote on September 10, 2007 1:12 PM:Hatch would certainly be an easy confirmation for Bush, what with Senatorial incest collegiality and all. For Bush to nominate him, though, would show serious desperation, so he's probably dead in the water, at least on the first round.
I hope Dems don't allow "stalling" to become the meme for what they're doing. They need to take the position that this administration failed twice in providing a capable, trustworty AG, so the time for deference to Bush's nominees has passed. This time the Senate will let the post remain unfilled until a fully acceptable nominee is presented, even if that means an acting AG for the remainder of Bush's term.
Among the criteria: no personal, business, or political affiliations with Bush or Cheney. Not from Texas. A record opposing the Patriot Act, warantless eavesdropping, and illegal detention. ACLU membership.
cmo3p wrote on September 10, 2007 2:54 PM:Easy enough - just say that in order to make sure the next AG doesn't make the same mistakes as the last, we need to know everything about those mistakes, i.e., all those emails and other docs. Leave the ball in the WH court and then accuse THEM of stalling if they don't cough up.
demwinger wrote on September 10, 2007 5:04 PM:who can blame Hatch for wanting the gig. he doesn't want to be in the permanent majority.
