Dodd Sets Pace on Dunking Mukasey

Kudos to Chris Dodd whose third-tier-nothing-to-lose presidential campaign has sprouted him a robust pair of cojones. Dodd became the most prominent Democrat, and the first among
the presidential candidates, to declare he will vote against Bush nominee Michael Mukasey's confirmation as Attorney General.

Angered by Mukasey's Senate testimony last week in which the former federal judge and prosecutor floated a legal "theory" that the President of the United States could, indeed, stand above constitutional statutes, Dodd declared on Monday:

"That is about as basic as it gets," Dodd said. "You must obey the law. Everyone must."

Dodd, along with a slew of other legal and political observers were also dismayed when Mukasey dodged Senators' questions last week about whether or not so-called waterboarding was, in fact, a form of torture. After eluding any straight answer, Mukasey wound up making the incredulous statement that he wasn't quite sure what was meant by the term.

Over the weekend, some leading Senate Democrats ranging from Dianne Feinstein of California to Carl Levin of Michigan engaged in their own form of equivocation, warning they might vote against Mukasey if he doesn't properly clarify his views when he responds to written questions from the Senate later this week.

But Dodd's bold stepping-out on this issue, rejecting any mulligan for a nominee who refuses to call torture by its proper name, seems like it might force the hand of fellow Democrats who might start looking rather silly if they don't turn thumbs down on the newly proposed AG. Within hours of Dodd's statement, fellow candidate and Delaware Senator Joe Biden also said he had made up his mind to vote nay. Campaign spokesmen for John Edwards and Bill Richardson also joined the chorus. And by late Monday night, the campaign of Barack Obama piled on, telling The New York Sun:

"Judge Mukasey has failed to send a clear signal that he understands the legal and moral issues that are at stake for our country, and so I cannot support him." Mr. Obama said even a clarification from Judge Mukasey would be insufficient. "No nominee for attorney general should need a second chance to oppose torture and the unnecessary violation of civil liberties," he said.

After this barrage, Mukasey's nomination might be dead in the water -- if you'll excuse the pun.

Comments

[speakingtruth2power]

Vote NO to any AG who will not promise to return Habeas Corpus.

[ProudPrimate]

It's up to Congress to do that. Fifteen months ago, the language to save habeas (the Specter Amendment) lost by 3 votes: fake moderate Susan Collins (voted no), fake moderate Olympia Snowe (went to the funeral of her aunt/guardian, as if the family wouldn't delay it a day if need be), and fake moderate (fill in the blank: Chuck Hagel -- any of 'em. Every GOPer but Lincoln Chafee, in a fruitless bid to buy a few more Dem votes, voted to give up the Right of Rights, without which no Right is of any use.)

Snowe wrote me back after 3 complaints, saying, "its only for citizens". Yeah? what about the Military Commissions Act of 2006, that says your rights of citizenship are null at the stroke of a pen? That's when you need habeas.

See her letter and my reply at http://www.proudprimate.com/issues/snowe%20letters/RE%20habeas.htm

[ProudPrimate]

"Every GOPer but Lincoln Chafee" (I should say, "and, of course, Arlen Specter, the author of the amendment")

[JustifiablyParanoid]

Wait...wait...I don't want to get too hopeful...I shouldn't right?

[Ozarks]

Mukasey looks like a character right out of an ole Steven Segal movie "Above the Law". His statements indicating that Bush is above the law should send his nomination for AJ right into the toilet. Thank god that one democrat, Dodd, has the fortitude to stand up against another Bush attempt to solidify his role as "King George"

[jont191]

FInally a democrat with some BALLS. Go Dodd GO

[arethabaez]

People with BALLS have never won the presidency. Pragmatic compromisers do. Of all the past presidents, I'm sure you would be able to find one of their opponents that you would have preferred, idealogically speaking.

[Danny]

It's not too late to try (to break away from the "compromisers"), and NOW is the time.
Senator Dodd, thank you.

[eugenegerard]

Since Andrew Jackson the only people that have won the presidency have been approved first by the controlling oligarchy in this country. Now the new president has to kiss the ass of international bankers and the Bilderberg Group. Hillary has already been vetted.

[Porter]

Very well said. What disturbs me is the silence of the other supposed contenders for the Democratic nomination, particularly Barack Obama, who started out strong but now is apparently unable to muster the anger, strength or cojones to attack anyone or anything. Why isn't Obama objecting to the actions of the Senate Republicans, to outrageous statements by the President, to the disgraceful statements of Republican wannabees like Giuliani and Romney?

If Obama wants to have a real shot at the Democratic nomination then he has to at least be as strong and secure in his beliefs and his statements as Hillary. He must convince Democrats that he can take on the Bush neocons, the presumptive Republican candidate (heaven help us, it may be Giuliani) and the swift-boating that the Republican slime machine will begin as soon as Obama starts to move forward.

What a disappointment this man has turned out to be be. How can he lead when he says so little, has so little presence on the national stage, and let others do the counter-attacking for him?

[LisainNYC]

Obama has said plenty, on Iraq , Iran, private contractors (10/3), tax fairness (10/9,22), veterans' medical care(10/5), social security (10/27,28) the Jena 6 (10/12), energy and the environment (10/8), torture (10/4), S-CHIP (10/3)and more. It's just not reported in the press.

[ProudPrimate]

My guess is, he's a media darling, and was never given the script marked "winner". He's reading the part of "plausible alternative" to Hillary. Makes her look like a real candidate. (Who'd vote for her, if she was advertized as the Rockefellers' next birdcage liner? -- the current one being Bush )

[Janco54]

Are you just not paying attention? If you're waiting around for the MSM to tell you what Obama is saying you're going to have a long wait. Just use "the Google" instead of the gaggle.

[arkansawtravler]

finally someone who has a little brass, I wanna hear someone stand up and discuss impeachment. For me, it has gotten as bad or worse than nixon's picadellos. If they can impeach bill for womanizing they sure as hell can impeach chimpy for breaking the law.

[ProudPrimate]

I work in a store, where every week or so you see a couple of social workers come in with half a dozen retarded people in tow. Ask yourself this:

1. Do the retards know what a blow job is? (Ans.: yes)

2. Do the retards know what the subversion of small third-world countries by Wall St. for pure greed is? (Ans.: no).

That's your electorate in miniature.

[eugenegerard]

Sounds like the base of the Republican Party.

[jeff]

"Campaign spokesmen for John Edwards and Bill Richardson also joined the chorus"

since when do they get to vote?

[hmmmmmer]

Skirting the constitution and torture, two wonderfully neocon notions that say, to hell with the ideals of America. Hey, let's just turn our country into a banana republic and say to hell with it. Maybe a dictator is what we need, I don't know, but if the Republicans have anything to say about it we are doomed. If the Democrats don't stand up and say enough is enough we are doomed. America, stand up for what is right and good, no torture, period, and the constitution is the law of the land for everyone including Bush and Cheney.

[speakingtruth2power]

By November of 2008, we should be assured

that our next Atty Gen. will be Russ Feingold.

the first task of VP Barack Obama should be

to oversee the restoration of our Constitution.

[WIpatriot]

My Senator would make a most excellent AG.

[ProudPrimate]

he'd make a better president that most all the candidates

[Primadonna]

Dodd - you're looking very presidential. What have you got to win by going out on a lonely limb it seems these days as a leader? Perhaps leading our nation into the collective collaboration it was meant to be guided by our Constitution? Get louder and get louder on all of the issues facing these very un-United States right now. Get louder daily and you will find a crowd getting louder with you. Turn up the loudness. It would be great to blow out the two party system. Unite with Kucinich, Biden, Edwards or Gore and do something revolutionarily forward.

[5yrsoftorturencounting]

Exactly Prima, he seems to be the only viable candidate without chapstick on his finger. I hope more people take notice of Dodd.

[ProudPrimate]

I didn't want to, but I had to -- send him $25 for the block, then I had to send him another $25 today. What choice did I have?

[Danny]

Prima -- I like the sound of this left-of-center coalition. It will be portrayed as wild-eyed communist or socialist or something THEY describe as un-American (by the financiers who run our country), but it would be the best thing this country could do right now. Hey, financiers, how about latching on to environmental change and making some very nice bucks OFF OF THAT? And saving the planet, too, if you do it right, and play fair.

[Counterglow]

Of course, then there's the problem of getting the mainstream press to pay the slightest attention to what you say, rather than how much money you raised yesterday.

I'm getting SO tired of content-free news!

[speakingtruth2power]

Electing anyone who will not return power back to we the people and our Congress
will seal the fate of America the free to becoming The Norte American Fascist Union.

[cae]

Go Senator Dodd! I agree with you!

[msmaggie]

I was astonished by Mukasey's testimony that he didn't want to say he thought water boarding was torture because it could come back to haunt him, meaning this was/is/will be this practice going on. I had to give the devil his due, in a strange way it's an honest response.

Pray for the health of Ginsberg, Breyer, Stevens and Seuter. If W gets another shot at the SCOTUS I shudder to think what's in store.

[speakingtruth2power]

SCOTUS13 along with a new Fairness Doctrine should be done by Feb 7th of 2009.

Populism is the cure for the cancer of fascism. No more BCBCB. Edwards/Obama08

[cadawa]

Three cheers for Senator Dodd. He seems to be the only Senate Democrat that gives a fig about his country.
My two Democratic Senators, Murray and Cantwell,deserve to be jailed.
They voted to confirm Roberts, Alito, Gonzales,Rumsfeld twice, Petraeus, Ashcroft, Chertoff; every bum that Bush put in front of them, they gave the nod to.
When I questioned Cantwell about her lack of judgement, she said she believed the president should have the cabinet he wants.
The concept of the balance of powers and the Senate's advice and consent responsibilities completely escaped her notice.

[friscosf]

Can you add my Democratic Senator, Diane Feinstein, too ?
What a disappointment !
She votes for EVERY Republican that Bush sends out.
What's wrong with the Democratic Party ?

Thanks you, Chris Dodd !!
You Presidential run ahs some meaning.
Now, say you won't vote for any more war funding or amnesty for telephone companies that let Karl Rove spy on Americans !

PS:
Please add my Congresswoman, Nancy Pelosi to that prison cell. Talk about disappointments !

[arethabaez]

Why do you think DF is soo popular?

[myshadow]

I'm with you cadawa, their performances have been wanting. Cantwell at least, voted against leiberman/kyl....I called patti's office and let them know that it was the DUMBEST vote she ever cast....the flimsy response was as lame as Hillary's for the same vote. Their silence on this is shameful...Over the last month Dodd has gotten my money and my vote for taking the lead on immunity...that support grows with his leadership on this.

[Moshe]

There are over 300 million people in the U.S.

It would be great if we could find just one to serve as Attorney General, that actually believed in the Rule of Law, the Constitution, and didn't think legal prohibitions against human rights abominations like torture were "quaint."

There are centuries of evidence that torture doesn't work to produce accurate information, and that, not suprisingly, people that are being tortured just say whatever they think the torturer wants to hear.

The real reasons for torture are: 1) At the macro level, it is simply a tool of mass terror, intended to frighten everyone who hears about it into absolute passive submission to those in power; and 2) At the micro level, some truly sick and vile bastards just want an excuse to torture and sexually abuse other humans while they are tied down and helpless.

I cannot believe the U.S. has become a nation that practices torture. It is shocking beyond imagination that this could happen here. And in doing so, the U.S. has forfeited any moral standing in the area of human rights, and generated hatred in the World that will last for generations.

To paraphrase Colonel McMaster: When you disrespect others, you are working for the enemy.

Nothing has benefitted the propaganda machines of our enemies more than U.S. torture.

The only way out of this moral cess-pool is to: 1) Absolutely reject torture; and 2) hold EVERYONE that advocated or practiced torture to full account under U.S. and International law.

[speakingtruth2power]

Populism is America's cure for the cancer of corporate fascism. Edwards/Obama08

[paixa3]

Somehow the fascism needs to end. The sooner, the better.