I listened to the first half of the Gonzales testimony today. I wasn't near a radio and wasn't able to listen to the second half. Because I am a glutton for punishment, this disappointed me.
Actually the hearing wasn't punishment at all. The Senate hearings I've heard before are generally spittle-inflected rage from the opposing party and sycophantic cuddles from friendly party. Not so today; even the Republicans were down on Gonzales. The only friendly questioner I heard was Orrin Hatch. His questions were in the typical line of "Isn't it true, sir, that you like puppies and rainbows and are dreamy?" Everyone else had taken a rare blow from the clue stick. It was particularly satisfying to hear Specter rip him a new one.
It seems like everyone can agree on hating Gonzales and the damage he's done to the justice system. He even brings together the angry Libertarian and yellow-dog Democrat who argue at lunch every day in my office. Gonzales is a uniter!
If you want to watch Gonzales being read the riot act, Talking Points Memo has video clips of the highlights.
6 Comments
Your use of the phrase "yellow-dog Democrat" reminded me that I have lately been trying to popularize "yellow-dog Republican". It is, after all, the same behavior pattern... and we mustn't forget that the big-money and neocon elements in today's Republican party are the direct descendants of the Dixiecrats, who changed parties in a bloc after the infamous Strom Thurmond speech.
That's a good point. How about "red-dog Republican"? The yellow-dog Democrat I mentioned refers to himself that way, so I know I can without insulting him.
i, too, find it particularly satisfying that arlen specter was ALL over gonzales. but i have to admit that i couldn't stand to listen to the coverage while i was out at lunch, and that's what inspired me to fix spacepod's cd changer tonight. i was like, if only i could just listen to a cd!
Wow, I guess that means Gonzales is good for something after all!
I heard 30+ minutes of the hearings. One of the NPR commentators noted that Arlen Specter had been a District Attorney earlier in life and was, unlike most of the Senators, a trained questioner and that it showed.
I generally cannot stand listening to politicians at hearings -- their simultaneous questioning and speechifying usually turns into exceptionally inefficient communication. Sen. John Cornyn impressed/surprised me with his straightforward questions and language. Maybe it was a byproduct of his very limited line of questioning. But it was still nice to hear.
Transcript of all at:
http://tinyurl.com/2hxf55
Arlen Specter got his start prosecuting Ralph Ginzburg for soft-core porn and leering ads. It was an omen.