Day: May 25, 2008

Rove Shows His Hand — and His Guilt — in Siegelman Case

Trish
Rove sputters on This Week

It was obvious after watching Karl Rove on This Week with George Stephanopoulos why he refuses to testify in public before the House Judiciary Committee. It has questions for him about his role in the likely false imprisonment of former Gov. Don Siegelman (D-Ala.). Most people believe those who were involved and have come forward to say that Rove was behind the attempts to frame the governor so he could be replaced by a Republican.

Rove has said he will answer questions only in writing or behind closed doors, with no members of the press or electorate allowed.

When asked to explain himself in the light of day, as he was on This Week, Rove stumbled badly. His attempts to parse and twist words, so effective from behind the scenes in the Bush White House, don’t play as well when the heat’s on him.

Commenter: “By answering the imaginary question, Rove in no way answers the real one”

Stephanopoulos: You were subpoenaed this week by the House Judiciary Committee to give testimony on any involvement you may have had with the prosecution of the former Alabama Gov Don Seigleman. He’s claiming there was selective prosecution. He’s out on bail now, even though he was convicted. He says your fingerprints were all over it.

Here’s what the House report said. It said, ‘In May, 2007, a Republican attorney from Northern Alabama named Jill Simpson wrote an affidavit stating that in November, 2002 she heard a prominent Alabama Republican operative named Bill Canary say that Karl Rove had contacted the Justice Department about bringing a prosecution of Don S. The question for Mr. Rove is whether he directly or indirectly discussed the possibility of prosecuting Don Siegelman with either the Justice Department or Alabama Republicans.’ Did you?

Rove: Let me say three things. First of all, I think it’s interesting, everybody who was supposedly on that telephone call that Ms. Simpson talks about says that the call never took place.

Stephanopoulos: Although she’s produced a cell phone record, according to the committee.

[…]

Bush Third Term Fundraiser: More Protesters Than Donors Expected So Organizers Scale Back

Jon Ponder

George Bush has said that after he leaves office, his first order of business will be to give a series of speeches in order “to replenish the ol’ coffers. I don’t know what my dad gets — it’s more than 50-75 [thousand dollars a speech].. Clinton’s making a lot of money.”
Bush’s Arizona fundraising effort for McCain is being moved to private residences in the Phoenix area.
If the embarassing outcome of a fundraiser Bush is headlining for John McCain this week is an indicator, he’d do well to come up with an ol’ Plan B:

A Tuesday fundraiser headlined by President Bush for U.S. Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign is being moved out of the Phoenix Convention Center.

Sources familiar with the situation said the Bush-McCain event was not selling enough tickets to fill the Convention Center space, and that there were concerns about more anti-war protesters showing up outside the venue than attending the fundraiser inside.

Another source said there were concerns about the media covering the event.

Bush’s Arizona fundraising effort for McCain is being moved to private residences in the Phoenix area. A White House official said the event was being moved because the McCain campaign prefers private fundraisers and it is Bush administration policy to have events in public venues open to the media. The White House official said to reconcile that the Tuesday event will be held at a private venue and not the Convention Center…

Tickets to the event were to range from $1,000 to $25,000 for VIP treatment.

The likelihood that George Bush will ever officially be held accountable for his malfeasance and incompetence is practically nil. It’s more likely that, like Nixon, it will be his fate to grow old in disgrace. If so, this humiliating slap in the face — not being able to muster a crowd of Republicans in McCain’s home state — may be a foretaste of what Bush can expect after he leaves office.

An Invitation to Hillary Clinton: Retire in Florida

Trish

Palm Beach, Florida has issued an invitation to Hillary Clinton, via columnist Frank Cerabino.

There isn’t a more outspoken, Democratic concentration of older white women in America than right here in condoland, and let’s face it, everybody likes to be around loved ones at the end

For Hillary, there’s no better place to wrap things up than right here in Palm Beach County.

To quote the line of the Eugene Levy character, Dr. Pearl, in the movie, Waiting for Guffman, “You have to go where the love is.”

And the love for Hillary, right now, is in South Florida.

There isn’t a more outspoken, Democratic concentration of older white women in America than right here in condoland, and let’s face it, everybody likes to be around loved ones at the end.

…If that’s the case, she should think of South Florida as her own political hospice. We’ll do this right and make her feel no pain right until the end.

She can live these final weeks in a place that will delude her into thinking that she’s the most popular candidate, even if the numbers say otherwise.

…She can ride out the final few days of the campaign as a hero, playing mah-jongg with the girls, taking in a show, maybe, with Bill, at the clubhouse.

“I don’t care what the pundits are saying,” she could tell the national media as she boards the bus for an afternoon charter to play the slots at an Indian casino. “All I know is what I see.”

And she’ll see nothing but cheering crowds. And she’ll get nothing but calls to fight on.