Why the Gonzales No Confidence Vote Matters

Posted by Guest Blogger at 6:25 AM on June 11, 2007.

This post, written by Steven Reynolds, originally appeared on the All Spin Zone

And Tony Snow may be right, that this vote today of no confidence in Alberto Gonzales is just a symbol. It may even be a failed vote, and thus a failed symbol. Still, that symbol will show the American people that some members of the Senate care about the rule of law. Folks like Tony Snow are undeiably tainted on that subject.

But let's get back to the title of this post. Symbols are powerful. Tony Snow dismisses this vote as a "symbol" at his peril. He should know, in his roles as cheerleader (Commentator at FauxNews) and apologist (Press Secretary), that the Bush Administration and its Republican Congressional allies have used symbols time and time and time again to try to ratchet up support for the Iraq War. What was "Mission Accomplished," after all, but a failed symbol staged by Mr. Snow's predecessors? How about the staged toppling of the statue of Saddam? I'd say that symbol worked, even though we know it was staged. Certainly the Bush Administration attempted to use Terry Schiavo as a symbol as well. She was more a symbol of their ineptness, and their cruelty in using even a braind dead woman for political reasons, but she was the failed symbol of Republicans, that's for sure.

Of course, symbols have worked quite well to damage the credibility of the Bush Administration. Tony Snow should know the power of symbols, given that hooded scarecrow that came to stand for Abu Ghraib. Cindy Sheehan herself was a symbol, an dwhile she didn't end the war in Iraq, she mobilized many people with her efforts. Hurricane Katrina is a symbol of Bush Administration ineptitude that will last a long long time. And Ted Haggard's desire for hot man sex, along with Mark Foley's lust for young teen boys will live on as Republican symbols of hypocrisy. No, not just hypocrisy, but they are symbols of the hollowness of Republican dogma, and surely the entire electorate, minus the 28% who can still be fooled any time, will understand that the Republican symbols are as hollow as their leaders.

Yeah, symbols are powerful, Tony, and you should dismiss symbols at your peril.

Meanwhile, back on the Gonzo front, it appears the Bush Administration made even more appointments based purely on political criteria. Yeah, it's against the law, both in fact and symbolically. Here's the scoop from the Washington Post:

At least one-third of the immigration judges appointed by the Justice Department since 2004 have had Republican connections or have been administration insiders, and half lacked experience in immigration law, Justice Department, immigration court and other records show.

Two newly appointed immigration judges were failed candidates for the U.S. Tax Court nominated by President Bush; one fudged his taxes and the other was deemed unqualified to be a tax judge by the nation's largest association of lawyers. Both were Republican loyalists.

Justice officials also gave immigration judgeships to a New Jersey election law specialist who represented GOP candidates, a former treasurer of the Louisiana Republican Party, a White House domestic policy adviser and a conservative crusader against pornography.

Sure, being a crusader against pornography, failing to do one's taxes properly, and defending Republicans in election cases -- those are qualifications for SOMETHING. It is abundantly clear, though not likely clear to Tony Snow, that those are not qualifications for a judgeship dealing with immigration. Another example of incompetency by Bushies? Or just par for the course in Gonzales' politicization of the DOJ?

Tagged as: bush administration, gonzales, snow, attorney attorney firings

Steven Reynolds, formally known as "Spin Dentist", is a regular blogger on the All Spin Zone.