In my humble opinion, great idea, but wrong position. If you have access to a resource like Russ, you don't waste it on the Vice presidency, you put it to work where it can do some REAL good. And I personally can think of no better place than the Attorney General's office.
When President Obama takes office, one of his most critical tasks will be reigning in an executive branch that has been essentially without adult supervision for the past 8 years. Our Bill of Rights is in tatters right now and the concept of rule of law ain't looking to healthy either. And afte the FISA vote, It's time for Obama to make a clear statement about his commitment to restoring our civil rights and reigning in executive power.
What stronger gesture could he than to commit to appointing as AG, the nations top Law enforcement offficer, the ONLY national politician who has been right on this issue from day one? The "1" in the 98-1 vote that created the USA Patriot Act is that man.
The primary election will be held in Missouri tomorrow, and below are all of the state Democratic races which will be on the ballot. Jay Nixon will likely be our next governor, as polls show him handily leading both Sarah Steelman and Kenny Hulshof. Unlike the Hillary/Obama fight, in which there was a certain level of respect that the two candidates had for each other, this is a personal, acrimonious brawl which is melting down the Missouri Republican Party in 2008. The poison which the Republicans normally throw on us is being used on each other to great effect, for instance:
Sorry about the long delay. In my last diary I made the argument that rather than just announcing his choice Vice Presidential candidate, Obama should also announce the three most influential cabinet members: the Secretaries of State and Defense and the Attorney General. I then went on to explain why former Senator Bill Bradley would be the best choice for Vice President.
In this post I will expand on the benefits of announcing the cabinet members and present my choice for Attorney General...
On last night's edition of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart and John Oliver talked about the recent testimonies by members of the Bush administration on Capitol Hill for numerous different scandals. As Stewart explains - some or refusing to testify while others are testifying and refusing to say anything. Oliver claims that this is an historic administration that one day will have their names retired in the rafters of the Capitol building. Fathers will one day be able to tell their sons that yes, they saw the greatest douches of all time.
Also, Lewis Black rants about the economy and the "End of an Empire Sale". I'll try not to spoil it but suffice it to say that Lewis Black is always funny. There is also a new segment of Obama Quest up as well.
Enjoy the video recap and chime in with your thoughts / comments:
This Diary late, but I just couldn't believe my ears.
On Wednesday Night, I was watching The Verdict with Dan Abrams, when Brad Blakeman(sp?), Abrams's favorite Republican punching bag, said something that made it clear exactly why the Bush Administration feels so free to treat the Justice department as their own personal fiefdom.
Abrams did not call him on it, so I wrote the show. I thought about cross-posting the E-mail here, but frankly, I thought I might have misheard. Even after all these years, I find the venality and stupidity of the current crop of Republicans to be beyond belief.
I was clearly not the only one to note this, as last night, Abrams featured this mistake in his P.O.ed section, apologizing for not calling Blakeman out on it the prior night. (I'd love to link to this or the original video or transcript, but I can't find it on the MSNBC website)
What was the mistake, and what is its larger meaning? Below the break.
The folks at Pensito Review have been doing a little research this afternoon... Seems Walnuts McCain's camp has completely scrubbed their website of any and all mention of Troy King. Hmph.
Alabama Attorney General Troy King, a conservative Republican Christian who has called homosexuality the 'downfall of society,' has been caught with his pants down—literally—in a gay sex scandal. King was reportedly nabbed having sex with a male assistant by his wife, Paige King, in the couple’s own bed.
Oh King you naughty bad boy. Not only are you gay, but caught in a affair with a gay man by the wife. You dirty dirty boy you!
King, considered a potential frontrunner for Alabama Governor in 2010, has been vocal in his condemnation of homosexuality and abortion. He has worked to outlaw sex toys and is a staunch supporter of the death penalty. King previously served as Assistant Attorney General and was appointed to Attorney General by Alabama Governor Bob Riley in 2004.
fishbowlAMERICA:The state of Alabama remains abuzz over just what is going on with these Troy King resignation rumors. The Republican Attorney General, who succeeded William Pryor after his controversial appointment to the federal bench, has been seen by many as a potential gubernatorial candidate when current Governor Bob Riley leaves office.
There are some who believe the initial source of the rumors are those from Riley himself. It has long been rumored that Riley's reason for running for Congress, and later Governor, was to pave a path for his son Rob Riley, a former SGA president and leader of the Machine at the University of Alabama. Rob Riley was on the infamous conference call with GOP operative Bill Canary and Dana Jill Simpson, when it was inferred that Canary would use Karl Rove and the Justice Department to investigate Riley's former opponent, Governor Don Siegelman.
WSFA, Montgomery's WSFA affiliate told some bloggers who inquired about the station running a story on King, said that King was going through a divorce, and that they wouldn't be running a story of such a private matter.
Amongst all the furror over the passage of FISA yesterday few took note of a hearing the Judiciary Committee held with Attorney General Mukasey. It was a hard-hitting serious of questions about a wide variety of issues. From politicization, to torture memos, to hiring and firing practices, and selective prosecution many good Senators asked many good questions. For the most part however Mukasey was evasive. No one could pin him down. That was however, until Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) got his turn.
California Senator Diane Feinstein, supposedly a "liberal voice", proved once again yesterday that her primary allegiances lie with the rich and the powerful and not with her constituents, justice or the Constitution.
Despite a mountain of calls, faxes and e-mails urging her not to do so, she never wavered from her position of flat-out support for telecom immunity and support of the massively flawed FISA bill which now provides the current administration further legal cover for its illegal wiretapping activities.
Similarly, Ms. Feinstein's support (along with that of Sen. Charles Schumer of NY) was largely instrumental in winning approval of Michael Mukasey as attorney general, replacing the disastrous Alberto Gonzales. And it is becoming increasingly clear how well that has worked out. Via dday at Digby's Hullabaloo, a review today of just how forthright Mr. Mukasey has been in his actions as AG.....and then a look at Sen. Feinstein's views on the man she helped put in office:
I am generally loathe to engage in the speculative diaries about who should be on the cabinet should Barack Obama win. But after watching Russ last night on "Countdown," it occurred to me that Feingold really should be our next Attorney General.
I know many people have their personal favorites (John Edwards' name comes up a lot), but think about this: which person has consistently been right in the fight for civil liberties? Which person was the only one to oppose the Patriot Act? Which person has led the charge to get big corporate money out of our politics?
Russ Feingold. And now, I think Russ can best serve his country again as Attorney General.
FishbowlAmerica.com:The rumor mill in Montgomery is swirling of news of a potential resignation by Republican Attorney General Troy King, amid rumors that he was caught by his wife having sex with a male aide and subsequently banished from his home by his wife.
King, a potential GOP frontrunner for Governor in 2010, succeeded Bill Pryor, one of George W. Bush's most controversial judicial nominees. In addition, King was also an early endorser of John McCain.
While at face value it smells of a whisper campaign on the internet, much like the recent whispers about MO governor Matt Blount, a number of reputable Alabama blogs are reporting, in the very least, that the rumors are there and widespread.
With the FISA capitulation and after watching John Yoo and David Addington make a mockery of testifying to Congress, I really wonder if the Democratic Party will take on the hard issues of law that face our country.
However, I know that Senator Russ Feingold will take on the hard issues of law that face our country and that is why he needs to be our next Attorney General.
On April 14, 2008 Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Daily News had an interview with Barack Obama. It came right after the Associated Press report that high-level officials including Vice President Dick Cheney and former Cabinet secretaries Colin Powell, John Ashcroft and Donald Rumsfeld, and others, met and discussed the use of waterboarding and other torture techniques on terrorism suspects.
What I would want to do is to have my Justice Department and my Attorney General immediately review the information that's already there and to find out are there inquiries that need to be pursued. I can't prejudge that because we don't have access to all the material right now. I think that you are right, if crimes have been committed, they should be investigated. You're also right that I would not want my first term consumed by what was perceived on the part of Republicans as a partisan witch hunt because I think we've got too many problems we've got to solve. (continued below the fold)...
This just in from Bloomberg news, the FBI has instructed its staff to not open any new financial crimes or environmental cases (most likely until the end of the Bush Regime). The green light is being sent to Republican criminals that its go-go-go, steal and pollute all you can until Bush is gone.
The 26 field offices were told to temporarily suspend opening new cases dealing with price fixing, mass marketing, wire fraud, mail fraud and environmental crimes, Carter said. ... ``We're just saying, `Don't open any new cases,''' he said. Bloomberg
Laws being suspended by this action include those affecting: price fixing, mass marketing, wire fraud, mail fraud and environmental crimes.
I was just wondering if there is still any awareness for US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to be appointed US Attorney General when Obama takes office? He was floated as an exceptional candidate during the Plame investigation but the reemergence of John Edwards has stolen some of that thunder.
