What this Republican talking point--shamefully repeated by Pravda
on the Potomac--really means is that the will of the President trumps the rule of law.
Nobody is claiming that the President doesn't have the right to hire and fire the USAs--unless that would break the law. (And it's certainly not usual for only some to be fired, not at the start of a Presidential term. And if the firings were so very, very OK, then why has the Justice Department had such a hard time coming up with a reason for doing it? Oh, not the incompetence dodge again!)
If firing the USAs would be a case of obstruction of justice or abuse of power--and the 8 were fired either because they were investigating Republicans or they refused to gin up charges against Democrats--then the President doesn't get to fire them, whether that would give Him pleasure or not, because that would be illegal.
This virulent "pleasure of the President" meme is Nixon's when the President does it, that means it is not illegal" all over again, except this time the Beltway 500 agrees with Nixon.
This virulent meme is authoritarianism in its purest form, entirely lethal to Constitutional government and the rule of law.
Disgusting.
The Beltway culture really is a fascist cesspool.
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yes, yes they are
but people remember nixon and this line of bullshit, and i don't think it's going to last. we've come to expect nothing less from the WaPo, but i don't think the judiciary comm. is looking to them as they pursue this matter.
Name it and claim it, CD
Nixon returns from the grave. We should have impeached the bastard even though he resigned, and if we had, we might not have gotten it all back again.
No authoritarians were tortured in the writing of this post.
First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win. -- Mahatma Gandhi
speaking of nixon:
Robert Novak: "But this is less a Gonzales problem than a Bush problem. With nearly two years remaining in his presidency, George W. Bush is alone. In half a century, I have not seen a president so isolated from his own party in Congress -- not Jimmy Carter, not even Richard Nixon as he faced impeachment. ... The I-word (incompetence) is also used by Republicans in describing the Bush administration generally. Several of them I talked to cited a trifecta of incompetence: the Walter Reed hospital scandal, the FBI's misuse of the USA Patriot Act and the U.S. attorneys firing fiasco. 'We always have claimed that we were the party of better management,' one House leader told me. 'How can we claim that anymore?' ... "
via rozen.
hahahahahahaha! even thru the filter of the Gang of 500, re publicans are skeer'd. they know the Little People know who is responsible for the Age of Gilded Crony Incompetence.
If Bush Is So Isolated...
Why do Republicans still support him, and protect him?
I think Novak has a point, but this is part of the spin - Bush doesn't really represent either "conservatism" or Republicans. On the other hand, they won't be able to keep this up, which is why I think passing that supplemental authorization was important.
He is isolated because his incompetence is a direct result of the ideology, which has taken over the Republican party.
Nixon never died
I seem to recall that most of Reagan's key people worked in the Nixon Administration in some capacity or another. Dick Nixon may have been the architect of modern-day authoritarianism, but he was shunted aside once he outlived his usefulness. The Partei is bigger than any individual member.
As for prosecuting him after his resignation, we have Gerald Ford, good soldier, to thank for that. As you will recall, Ford was elevated to sainthood upon his death a few months ago because he "reunited the country in a time of crisis".
From Watergate to Bush v. Gore and beyond, the notion has taken root that the stability of the United States Government trumps all other concerns, including democracy itself. This idea seems to be accepted across the board in official Washington, by Democrats and Republicans alike. This notion needs to be critiqued and defused if we wish to restore Constitutional government, such as it is, to America.
...for the rest of us
Don't no don't now try to get yourself elected
If you do you had better cut your hair
Details on that "pleasure of the president" thing...
How one cartoonist sees the matter. (Rex Babin, SacBee, via today's Froom)
--although don't ask me why that Froom appears to be dated "2005/04/11". Maybe they're running low on date numbers so have decided to recycle some.
Just go look at the cartoon, dammit. Put down all beverages and edibles first, I don't want any repetition of the unfortunate events of yesterday.
"At the President's pleasure"
"... serve(s) at the pleasure of the President."
But the President, and the entire US government, serves at the pleasure of the people.
If the people decide that we are being oppressed by our government, we have the right of Revolution.
Impeachment? God forbid. That would leave too many bloodsuckers still in power. Tear down the whole rotten, corrupt system!