Politics Blog

Another trip down memory lane:

in 1993, Attorney General Janet Reno’swholesale firing of U.S. attorneys appointed by George H.W. Bush was a non-story on the ABC evening news–literally a non-story, according to records kept by the Vanderbilt University Television News Archive, as in zero coverage. CBS also skipped it; NBC gave it 20 seconds.

At the risk of putting a damper on all the fun, here’s a primer on the sort of White House experience that ABC’s chief Washington correspondent could draw on to enlighten viewers.

First of all, misleading messages from a hapless attorney general can be corrected: Janet Reno had only been on the job for a matter of days when she announced the blanket dismissal of U.S. attorneys in March 1993, and she bungled the job, letting word get out that prosecutors involved in significant investigations would be allowed to complete them. As was noted at the time, this would have meant that an ongoing investigation of the powerful House Democrat and vital Clinton ally, Dan Rostenkowski, by the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jay Stephens, would continue uninterrupted.

The White House, or rather Mr. Stephanopoulos, quickly torpedoed that idea. In a press briefing, he announced that among the prosecutors whose resignations had been demanded, “there are at least some people who are in the middle of trials right now who will not be replaced.” Trials, he specified, not investigations. “Interestingly,” a Hartford Courant editorial noted back then, “Miss Reno didn’t explain the impending dismissals. The president’s personal spokesman, George Stephanopoulos, did the fast talking.”

Yes, and we’re supposed to sit here and pretend the media does not have overwhelming leftward bias. They are partisan actors looking to advance an agenda.
Otherwise, everyone remembers the congressional hearings held by Waxman on this, right? That flurry of subpoenas for White House emails and AG Reno explaining all this to Congress? Ha!

The shame of it all is that this “scandal” is taken seriously by “media professionals” who should be embarrassed to pretend it is a story at all.

— The Ace

The last time there was talk of secession, things did not work out too well. But it is inconceivable that the United States will remain in its current form “forever.” I wonder what mechanics would come into play for a State that seeks to sever the union?

Vermont was once an independent republic, and it can be one again. We think the time to make that happen is now. Over the past 50 years, the U.S. government has grown too big, too corrupt and too aggressive toward the world, toward its own citizens and toward local democratic institutions. It has abandoned the democratic vision of its founders and eroded Americans’ fundamental freedoms.

Vermont did not join the Union to become part of an empire.

Some of us therefore seek permission to leave.

— Oak Leaf

You know things are bad when you and Sanjaya of American Idol are mocked in the same cartoon.

–’The Commish’ A.J. Sparxx

While John Boehner, House Minority Leader was condemning the pork in the Supplemental Appropriation:

GOP Leader Boehner Says Military Spending Bill Should Support American Troops, Not Pork

The Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Whip Trent Lott were slopping it up at the trough:

The Senate’s top two Republicans, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Whip Trent Lott, voted against their GOP colleagues Wednesday on a motion to cut extraneous spending from the Iraq emergency appropriations bill. They did so to help Sen. Norm Coleman, who faces a tough run for re-election from Minnesota next year.

The motion by reform Sen. Tom Coburn would have eliminated $100 million to provide security for the 2008 national party conventions. With Republicans meeting in Minneapolis, Coleman (a former mayor of St. Paul) made a strong pitch to retain the money.

The Coburn amendment was supported by 37 of the 49 Republican senators. But McConnell and Lott opposed it for Coleman’s sake. It lost, 51 to 45.

It makes no difference if you put lipstick on a Democrat or a Republican because you still have the same fat pig.

— Oak Leaf

When you hire illegals to fulfill a US Government contract to build a border fence, and fatten your own pocketbook, you get six months at home confinement.

Well, some fish get more scrutiny than others:

The false information and tax evasion charges relates to Kerik’s failed nomination for Homeland Security secretary, the person close to the investigation said. Kerik withdrew his nomination after acknowledging he had not paid all taxes for a family nanny-housekeeper and that the woman may have been in the country illegally.

Unlike the Chamber of Commerce Republicans building fences with illegals, Kerik gets a plea deal offer with real jail time:

Kerik’s lawyer confirmed Saturday that he had turned down a plea bargain offer that included prison time because he “did nothing wrong.”

— Oak Leaf