Bernard Kerik withdraws from nomination

12/10/04

[Destro]

Bernard Kerik withdraws from nomination per FOX

[ArchTriumph]

Maybe this is why Bush wants the amnesty for illegals, because a ton of the pols. have illegal nannies...

[BurrOh]

Don't know who 'they' are, but Mr. Kerik thinks that 'something'(illegal nannies--whatever) will be detrimental to his effectiveness. I trust his judgement...was willing to trust his judgement as head of H.S. for goodness sake. I still would. Still bummed.

Love the Green Lantern series. Catch it many early Sat. mornings on cable. :-)

[oceanview]

good example - and it worked for the Dems didn't it? did any of the AR voters even care that Pryor didn't pay nanny taxes? how many americans do you think would care that Kerik didn't (if that's all there is to the story)? very few. But Pryor is in the Senate, and Kerik has to go.

[TexKat]

but why do we need a guy like this in that job?

Because some just need a savior.

I'm still asking what did we know about Kerik prior to 9/11.

[SeaBiscuit]

That would totally freak out the Left .. I like it .. LOL

:=)

[No Dhimmi]

Agreed.

This is an opportunity for W to hit back even harder -- make the Dhimmicrats regret they ever even opened their mouths.

GO ZELL!!!!

[scottybk]

Isn't Zell Miller out of work come next month? Yeah, he's old, but come on- Zell doesn't take any crap!

[hilaryrhymeswithrich]

I love the Ollie idea...he is no nonsense...

[Cold Heat]

I cannot and have never been able to figure it out,

Pretty simple actually.

Bernie went over there to get the police dept up and running in Bagdad.

He did what he knows, and he gave them pistols.

The guys with the AKs came out and shot them up and the Iraqis lost confidence in him, as well as the press.

That ended the adventure.

It was because the situation changed and got worse with AlSader and his bunch. Nobody saw it coming.

[MEG33]

Amen..I just whizzed right by those posts because I watched him in the 2000 election process..

[newwahoo]

"Who is not an opportunist in pol? The reason Bush cut him loose was that the dirt got heavy, someone knew he would do a good job, make the country safer --- and we can't have that can we..."

I think there are stronger ex-NYPD candidates out there than Kerik. Timoney from Miami is ex-NYPD, along with Bill Bratton who is currently running the LAPD. Talking to many NYPD officers and supervisors with a lot more experience leads me to believe that there are quite a few others just from our department that are even better qualified than Kerik.

Kerik became nationally known after his work on 9-11. That doesn't mean that there aren't other well-qualified NYPD candidates along with many others from other law enforcement agencies with whom I'm not acquainted. Honestly, I never heard anything positive about Kerik other than he was a decent street cop and didn't destroy the innovative projects of his predecessors.

I'm not sure of the politics involved, but from what I've heard and experienced I'd be talking to Mr. Bratton right now.

[OESY]

I doubt strongly that there are any serious "skeletons" that would derail Kerik's confirmation. The reason he is withdrawing is more likely the New York Times' editorial from yesterday (below).

Kerik doesn't need to give up his lucrative consulting practice with Giuliani to subject himself to exhausting and carping attacks by small-minded Democrats who could not care less about Homeland Security. Kerik has served his country nobly and just doesn't need the hassle now.



Bernard B. Kerik

EDITORIAL: Questions for Mr. Kerik, Published: December 9, 2004

We've been puzzled by President Bush's choice of Bernard Kerik, who was the police commissioner under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, as the homeland security secretary. Before the Senate signs off on his nomination, there are a lot of questions to ask about Mr. Kerik's readiness for this job, and about some troubling parts of his record. If he is confirmed, Congress will want to keep a close eye on him and his department.

Mr. Kerik has some strengths. He has an impressive personal story: he overcame a troubled family background to lead the nation's largest police force. He has considerable experience in law enforcement and antiterrorism activity. It is also welcome that he is a New Yorker, given the city's unique history with terrorism and the unfairness of the formula used to allocate homeland security money, which favors Wyoming over New York.

But other parts of his record are less reassuring. A homeland security secretary should be above politics and respectful of civil liberties. But when he stumped for President Bush this year, Mr. Kerik engaged in fearmongering. He told The New York Daily News that he was worried about another terrorist attack and that "if you put Senator Kerry in the White House, I think you are going to see that happen." And he was quoted in Newsday as saying this about opponents of the Iraq war: "Political criticism is our enemies' best friend."

There are chapters of Mr. Kerik's career that are worthy of particular scrutiny. In the summer of 2003, he spent several months in Iraq training police officers. But his time there appears to have been cut short, right around the time of some serious terrorist attacks, and the state of the force since his departure has been bleak. Given the relevance of that work to his new duties, it would be instructive to know what, if anything, went wrong.

The public is also entitled to know more about his work for Giuliani-Kerik L.L.C., a consulting business he operates with Mr. Giuliani, who reportedly had a large hand in getting him his new position. Mr. Kerik should offer assurances that former clients and colleagues will not get preferential treatment. He has had difficulty with ethical lines in the past. In 2002, he paid a fine for using a police sergeant and two detectives to research his autobiography.

Then there is Mr. Kerik's enormously profitable membership on the board of Taser International, the stun-gun maker. Tasers are marketed as nonlethal, but Amnesty International says more than 70 people have died in the United States and Canada since 2001 after being shocked with them.

One of the most glaring weaknesses in Mr. Kerik's résumé is his limited experience working with Congress and official Washington. The Senate may want to encourage him to bring in experienced top staff members for the heated battles sure to come.

The above graph and article entitled "Security Post Would Put Kerik Atop Field That Enriched Him" were published in the New York Times, December 10, 2004. This confirmed speculation that the Times editors were going to actively assist Democrats in personally destroying Kerik's reputation unless or until he withdrew from consideration as homeland security chief.

If you recall the Times pulled a similar stunt to force Kissinger's withdrawal as a nominee to head the 9/11 Commission, whereupon he was replaced by the less than competent Gov. Kean.

[dwilli]

THe one thing I can never forgive anyone for is neglecting their
kids. Wealth has nothing to do with it. Some of the best parents
on Earth are the poorest who do the very best they can.

[gidget7]

albiet a useless one, but yes a Republican. She is, I hope, better than the one she replaced, but I haven't seen much happening since she took office. CT Republicans are pretty currupt, shouldn't call themselves Republicans.

[Mo1]

I'm still asking what did we know about Kerik prior to 9/11.

Alot was known about Bernie prior to 9/11 ... The knives were out for Bernie ... and I have no doubt they were prepared to use them ... they did not want him head of HS

[Mears]

bump

[SeaBiscuit]

"I don't think Ollie would put up with the Bravo Sierra though."

Yup, though that's just what we need, someone who won't take any baloney.

[hilaryrhymeswithrich]

Sorry all..besides throwing a mean spitball, Zell will be joining a local law firm here in GA and living a very cushy life...don't think he is interested in repeated public rectal exams by the left for 4 more years....things he wants some nice GOPers with a soft touch and a warm stethoscope

[AuntB]

"But we are in a new age..."

And what would that age be? The age where republicans will stoop as low as the democrats? Where the republican party would no longer tell a Richard Nixon..GO? We'll see if the republicans do what the democrats did, remember? Just raise the amount that can be paid to domestic help without paying taxes. Is that how the republican party started winning? By becoming as unethical as the democrats?


ABC radio news reports this as Karik resigning so he would not embarrass the Bush Administration with the "problem" of hiring an illegal alien.


I'm outta here for a few days because it's the season of peace and I have no intention of saying what I'm really thinking.

Be well. Merry Christmas.

[nopardons]

bttt