Posted on 04/20/2007 11:35:04 PM PDT by do the dhue
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Desperate for support among fellow Republicans, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales faced grim prospects Friday after a bruising Senate hearing that produced one outright call for resignation and a fistful of invitations and hints to quit.
One GOP member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, John Cornyn of Texas, predicted Gonzales would weather the furor and said he should. "Frankly, I don't think the Democrats are going to be satisfied with the resignation by Al Gonzales," he said.
Gonzales gave no indication Friday that he was leaving.
"Please know that as you continue your work, I am by your side," the attorney general told an audience of crime victims' rights supporters. He spoke in a gravelly voice the day after his long day of testimony.
Gonzales also called several GOP senators, including Cornyn and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, an aide said.
Specter said Gonzales sounded "in good spirits."
"The attorney general did call me today and he said he was just checking with senators to see how the hearing went," Specter said Friday. "I told him, 'Everything I had to say about the hearing I've already said.'"
(Excerpt) Read more at breakingnews.nypost.com ...
He only needs the support of the President. I think Gonzales is an embarrassingly weak manager, but I hope he hangs in to spite the rats.
Peloser and the rats are witch hunting. We should do the same one day.
Can you imagine not being able to remember 71 times? I wonder if he even knows he has a job?
He did do a terrible job in his testimony, and he seems to have done a worse job of knowing what’s happening in his department.
But Bush can’t fire him at the Senate’s command. That dynamic is all wrong, and they know it. He just can’t afford to give in.
It’s a mess all around.
Agree, the firings were legal. So why did Gonzales screw it all up? This man is totally incompetent. Read the whole article and note the comments by conservative Republican Senators. Gonzales is pathetic.
“Can you imagine not being able to remember 71 times? I wonder if he even knows he has a job?”
I wonder if Gonzales knows the borders are open and Sandy Burglar got caught stealing top Secret Documents.
Gonzales should go for those two things alone.
Pro illegal immigrant Gonzo can kiss my a$$!
He feels bad for gangster illegals.
True, but don't ask Gonzales any questions about the border or Sandy Burglar as he probably doesn't recall.
“Gonzales should go for those two things alone”
Amen
He did it to himself. The dims are po'd because they couldn't claim debunking his stupidity.
I don’t want to give them a victory of any sort. They won’t let our Troops work for victory, then why should I make it easy on them.
If he’s that bad then he should go. Supporting mediocrity just to get back at the Dummycrats is not only bad politics, it’s bad for the country.
?
He’s being indicted over nothing, including firing the same Carol Lam that Senator Feinstein was screaming about.
This whole thing should not be happening. It didn’t happen when Clinton did more.
If you want to remove Gonzales, fine but let Bush do it and not because of Demoratic pressure.
He should be fired because of the persecuted Border Patrol Agents and for not firing U.S. Atty Johnny Sutton.
The trick here is to have Gonzales resign, but not until a replacement is confirmed. The AG replacement must be a hard line conservative, such as Ann Coulter.
HEAR HEAR!!
I would love to see the look on Peloser's face.
Whiskey for my men and beer for my horses
Bush is letting this guy twist in the wind. One of my biggest pet peeves about Bush is his refusal to call the Democrats the socialist slimeballs they are.
I concur with that statement. Am I becoming an extremist?
Yes, if you are repeatedly asked essentially the same rehashed lame question 70 times after you said the first time that you don't remember...
>> Can you imagine not being able to remember 71 times?
Well, you only need to forget but once that you forgot 70 times prior.
Still, I guess he should hang in just to spite the rats - - although at this point, who cares, really...? The Bush Justice Department is one of the most corrupt in history and that's the legacy it has to live with. Any new AG who would get confirmed would STILL be too corrupt to, for example, give Sandy Berger that lie detector test he was supposed to take after the Bush Justice Department whitewashed his crimes and gave him a feeble wrist slap.
Gonzalez is a crony and a demonstrated fool.
His inability to mount a coherent defense of what should have been an easily justifiable matter weakened him pathetically in the eyes of his Republican colleagues. We, the people deserve better than that and the Republicans rolling their eyes throughout Gonzalez's appearance were simply a reflection of the people.
He does not deserve the position he holds.
Janet Reno was far worse and actually a danger hold holding a position of power.
Since the Democrats have no standards except for power, she was only recognized as an incompetent, not treated as she deserved.
Gonzalez won't be so lucky.
This is just one small detail that makes us different than the rats. I'll simply thank God for those differences and move on.
OH, all of the FReepers who screamed over Gonzalez's appointed? You were right all along.
HEAR HEAR
HEAR HEAR
If this were a Demo administration and the AG had committed some serious crime every lefty Demo in Congress would be standing by him or her, no matter what. They protect their own no matter how wretched they are. The GOP does not stand together like that.
I just have to say that I hate and detest specter. I really do.
The GOP’s motto should be, “One for me and All for none”... as they only care about themselves. There is no “we” in the R’s in Congress.
LLS
Here in Michigan the US attorney is completely out of control. The office and the federal court appeals court was ordered by the US supreme court not to prosecute a farmer for filling in a mud hole but did so anyway.
Can you imagine the embarrasment of the Hispanic community of whom Gonzales was lauded as represengting in the GOP?
71 repeated memory lapses must be disapointing.
Supporting mediocrity just to get back at the Dummycrats is not only bad politics, it’s bad for the country.
You must be a genuine conservative of principle, I agree.
Principle before party keeps you in office.
If a senator asked, should you step down for medical reasons such as dementia or amnesia Gonzales could always ask him to repeat the question. :)
Can Bush do that? (Have confirmation hearings before Gonzales resigns, that is, not get Ann Coulter. Ann's speaking fees in a month are more than what the AG makes in a year)
There is no way Bush will get someone better confirmed. He might as well ride out his term.
They regularly do this with Supreme Court nominees. And Rumsfeld’s resignation wasn’t effective until Gates was confirmed.
“The trick here is to have Gonzales resign, but not until a replacement is confirmed. The AG replacement must be a hard line conservative, such as Ann Coulter.”
Good luck. Bush had a hardline conservative as AG and the administration ran him off. His name was John Ashcroft. Remember when he pulled out the “wall” memo on Gorelick in the 911 hearings.
“It is a debacle that will cost votes in 08. Republicans could cut losses by dumping GONZALES and not waiting the day after the election as he did with Rumsfeld to realize the costs to the GOP.”
It might also help id Bush started closing the borders and the AG office forced Sandy Burglar to take a lie- detector test, that Burglar agreed to take. It might also help if Bush gave those three Border Patrol agents a pardon.... But I’m not holding my breath!
I understand the reflexsive response to not want the Dems to get another scalp.
But Gonzales is scalping himself.
That is an inability to recall that is more befitting a member of the Clinton Administration.
He’s either incompetent or lying. Actually, based on how he’s doing on illegal immigration, he’s definitely incompetent. He just needs to go. The only reason he’s still in a job is because he toes the line on Bush’s view for illegal immigration (i.e., token effort to keep conservative support, but working towards a North American Union for all that cheap labor).
I can live with it, but I would rather clean my own Party then have others clean my Party.
Man, Clinton cleared out 11 times the number of people Gonzales and Bush did. Everyone needed to go in regards to Bush and Gonzales. Clinton's move should have been questioned. This is a witch hunt.
Actually, Bush did clear out all the Clinton appointees. That's pretty standard.
The eight US attorneys involved were all appointed by W.
I hate giving the Dims any victory whatsoever, but Fredo is doing active harm to the country. The good of the nation transcends the good of the party.
That's the problem with moving left to be a middle of the road "moderate", sometimes you're going to be hit by cars going both ways.
It will be good to see Gonzales gone, I just wish it wasn't the Dems driving the firing.
OK, y'all changed my mind. I still don't have to like it that the rats are doing our dirty work. We should be doing it ourselves.
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