republican congressman

The document dump from the Department of Justice has shown one very well-known name on the list of those to possibly be fired:

U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald was ranked among prosecutors who had "not distinguished themselves" on a Justice Department chart sent to the White House in March 2005, when he was in the midst of leading the CIA leak investigation that resulted in the perjury conviction of a vice presidential aide, administration officials said yesterday.

The ranking placed Fitzgerald below "strong U.S. Attorneys . . . who exhibited loyalty" to the administration but above "weak U.S. Attorneys who . . . chafed against Administration initiatives, etc.," according to Justice documents.

The chart was the first step in an effort to identify U.S. attorneys who should be removed. Two prosecutors who received the same ranking as Fitzgerald were later fired, documents show.

Now isn't it ironic that Fitzgerald was also on the short list of names to fire? No there isn't anything political here. One prosecutor who brought down a corrupt Republican congressman, Randy Cunningham, gets fired right after her investigation leads to indictments of the former third ranking person at the CIA. Now we have the man who successfully prosecuted Scooter Libby also on the list.

I wonder how Fitzgerald didn't "distinguish" himself? I guess this isn't distinguishing to the administration:

Fitzgerald also won the Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service in 2002 under Ashcroft

Fitzgerald has been coined one of the best prosecutors in the nation. That was well before the Libby trial. He has brought down some major corruption within government. This should remove any doubt on the entire purge and prove these firings were political.

From the front page of Today's Washington Post:

A Republican congressman knew of disgraced former representative Mark Foley's inappropriate Internet exchanges as far back as 2000 and personally confronted Foley about his communications.

A spokeswoman for Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) confirmed yesterday that a former page showed the congressman Internet messages that had made the youth feel uncomfortable with the direction Foley (R-Fla.) was taking their e-mail relationship. Last week, when the Foley matter erupted, a Kolbe staff member suggested to the former page that he take the matter to the clerk of the House, Karen Haas, said Kolbe's press secretary, Korenna Cline.

This is rather interesting. I don't know why the only openly gay Republican in Congress is now coming forward on this. Could he be trying to show that there was a wide knowledge of Foley for years? This adds one of the most interesting aspects to the whole scandal yet.

And they keep on falling:

The chief of staff for Republican Congressman Tom Reynolds, Kirk Fordham, resigned after questions were raised about his role in the handling of the congressional page scandal, according to Republican sources on Capitol Hill.

Those sources said Fordham, a former chief of staff for Congressman Mark Foley, had urged Republican leaders last spring not to raise questionable Foley e-mails with the full Congressional Page Board, made up of two Republicans and a Democrat.

Remember - it was Reynold's office that tried to cut a deal with ABC to not report the Foley story.

Looks like the Abramoff stuff is really starting to piss off Bob Ney:

Rep. Bob Ney, under enormous political and legal pressure for more than a year, has lashed out against press coverage of his plight, voicing great displeasure over stories focusing on the controversial golfing trip to Scotland that threatens his grip on the congressional seat he has held for six terms.

 In two rambling e-mails sent from his Blackberry device to Copley News Service reporter Paul Krawzak, the Republican congressman from Ohio ridiculed the veteran reporter, challenging his ethics and mocking the 5-foot-7-inch Krawzak as “big man.”

The trigger for Ney’s rage was Krawzak’s coverage, carried in The Times-Reporter and its sister Copley Ohio newspapers, The Repository and The Independent, of the trial of White House procurement official David H. Safavian. Safavian is accused of lying and obstructing the criminal investigation of the once-powerful and now-discredited Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Now here is where we really get into some good bar brawling words by the man who was dubbed "the mayor of Capital Hill":

“Let me tell you paul-last week you did not call us for comment ‘you were under deadline,’” began Ney, who then reflected his belief that his critics just keep recycling the same story about the golf trip. “Print the same story-change it to reprint the same story-people in new philly – d’s and r’s call it ‘elk’s politics.’”

He concluded his message with “Go for it – harass my wife and daughter a little bit more big man – maybe I will take out an add talking about your ethics.” The reference to his wife and daughter reflected his continuing anger that earlier this year another Copley News Service reporter, based in Ohio, interviewed his neighbors and knocked on his door seeking comment from his wife.

This should really spark a heated discussion and calls of partisanship from
the right:

Former Vice President Al Gore will deliver a scathing speech Monday at
Constitution Hall in Washington -- just blocks from the White House -- at
which he will declare America is faced with a constitutional crisis, RAW
STORY has learned.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speech is set to take place at noon at
the Daughters of the American Revolution's Constitution Hall. Gore will be
introduced by onetime Georgia Republican congressman Bob Barr.

A source close to the erstwhile vice president related details of Gore's
expected speech to RAW STORY Thursday. The source noted that Gore prepares
the final editions of his speeches just before he delivers them, but that
the tenor of the speech would focus on what the Tennessee Democrat has
described as a President acting above the law

Article continues

here.

We can expect the right wing pundits to counter with "Gore is trying to set
the stage for a 2008 White House run" or something along those lines. One key
here is the fact that Bob Barr will be introducing him. Barr has been one of the
most outspoken people on the right when it comes to condemning Bush's
warrantless wiretaps.

As

Raw Story is reporting today, Sen. John Kerry has called for the resignation
of Donald Rumsfeld.

“The President owes it to our troops serving in Iraq to remove Secretary
Rumsfeld and replace him at the Pentagon with a Defense Secretary who
understands the situation on the ground in Iraq and who will advance, not
undermine, American values around the world.

View complete article

here

The question is though - if Rummy leaves who would take over? The rumors are
flying and a majority of them seem to be pointing to one person - Joe Lieberman.
The rumors have even reached the mainstream media. This from CBS'
Face the Nation:

SCHIEFFER: ...because there's a lot of talk. Last night--over this
weekend, I had four different people tell me that the White House is
thinking if the secretary of Defense goes over the next year--and a lot of
people think that he will, that the president is thinking of nominating Joe
Lieberman to be secretary of Defense. If he did that, would you support
Lieberman?

View complete transcript
here.

So why would Bush be courting a Democrat to take the place at Rummy.
Kos has an
opinion on it

Since the Iraq war started one thing has really gotten under my skin. That is
the continuous assertion that we hate our troops because we oppose the war in
Iraq. The fact that we want them home protecting their nation and not off in
some far away land fighting an illegal war based on lies shows more support for
the troops than those who wish to freely put them in harms way without proper
protective equipment.

I feel it is time to turn the tables on the Republican smear machine and
attack them with their own game. I am going to start keeping track of Republican
congressman who oppose the removal of pork in the budget, which would be better
spent on the recovery of the Gulf Coast. These will be the people who we
consider "hate America".

The first to my list of those who hate America is Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska).
He has over 1/2 a billion dollars of pork in the recently signed transportation
bill, which includes a $250 million bridge to no where. When asked about the
forfeiting of his pork barrel spending,
Don Young
replied "They can kiss my ear!"

Congratulations Don Young - my first of a sure to be long list of those who
hate America!

If you have any tips on further congressman who are opposing the cutting
of their own pork please let me know.