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Two GOPers Join Dems in White House Contempt Vote
Earlier we noted that the Senate Judiciary Committee had voted to approve contempt resolutions against Karl Rove and White House chief of staff Josh Bolten for failing to comply with subpoenas from the U.S. Attorney firings probe.
The final vote tally was 12-7, with two Republicans, Sens. Arlen Specter (R-PA) Chuck Grassley (R-IA) crossing over.
Now, it's up to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) as to when (or whether) he'll scheduled a vote on the Senate floor. When we asked a Reid aide last week about it, we were told the Reid would consult with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) about it when the time came.
Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee's contempt citations against Harriet Miers and Bolten have been sitting on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) desk since July. After much delay, Dem House leadership aides said last month that the vote had again been delayed to December. So now's the time. Perhaps the Senate and House will team up and schedule both votes before the New Year, sending the White House contempt citations against Rove, Miers, and Bolten as a Christmas gift. Or maybe nothing will happen. Stay tuned.
Comments (23)
Anonymous wrote on December 13, 2007 1:10 PM:Grassley is from Iowa.
Republican smirk wrote on December 13, 2007 1:10 PM:You whiney Democratic wimps
Oh gosh, gee wiz, oh your so strong,
can I feel your muscles. Oh I am just swooning over the raw display of Democratic prowess. Oh my , I feel a bead of sweat trickling down my breast bone.
I do declare I think I may swoon.
Yeah , all you Democratic losers are so pitiful. Get use to republican power -
because there is more to come for many many years.
George Bush is the best thing that ever happened to you all, your like a bunch of
Presstitute Bosom. wrote on December 13, 2007 1:20 PM:babies who need to be suckled on a republican tit.
Sounds like a boxcar of turnips just flipped above.
mhr wrote on December 13, 2007 1:30 PM:It's just Karl Rove guest posting, Presstitute. He never passed third-grade English, and he failed the Army psych test. Both failures put him on a fast track to GOP membership.
Cinderella Ferret wrote on December 13, 2007 1:44 PM:... your like a bunch of babies who need to be suckled on a republican tit.
Can you send Dana Perrino, please?
Anonymous wrote on December 13, 2007 1:53 PM:You better hope that Republicans don't rule for a very long time....get your head out of the sand and take a look around you....you will be in a concentratin camp right along with us whiny Democratics...unending war..got kids? economical disaster..got big bucks?No Habeas Corpus...going to jail as an "enemy combatant" ? No Posse Comitatus..want to complain..use your first amendment rights, with out being shot by the National Guard? Wiretapping... want to have a quiet private little talk with your wife or girlfriend..? Patritot Act...want to keep your bank records to yourself, want to keep that porn site you go to unknown to co-workers? Corporation run government..you want a fair, livable wage, you want access to health care when you are sick or dying? Unitary Executive Laws...you want a President who makes up the laws, does as he pleases, abuses the Law..but throws you in prison and confiscates all your wordly goods? Like all of you right wing fascists idiot you don't even know this is not the United States of America, anymore
tony wrote on December 13, 2007 1:58 PM:seriously. i mean, as press secretaries go, Dana Perino is SMOKIN'!!!
chabuka wrote on December 13, 2007 1:59 PM:Don't panic righties your King will yank Specters chain..and that will be the end of it....hows the economy working out for you?
Republican money wrote on December 13, 2007 2:14 PM:Don't worry
ARG in Chicago wrote on December 13, 2007 2:18 PM:The republicans will figure out a way to fool you all on the coming "non" recession while you all are charging up your credit cards
Hey, Paul.
The original story said the vote was 11-7, so I had assumed one Democrat must have been absent. Now you are reporting a 12-7 vote. What's the story there?
(And, as an aside, are the junior high schoolers all on holiday break already? Is that where we're getting all these new posters? Here's a tip, kids: a site like this is read by a lot of grown ups, many of whom interpret proper spelling and punctuation -- not to mention a civil tone -- as a sign of intelligence. Please proofread before posting. Thanks!)
-- ARG
phil james wrote on December 13, 2007 2:20 PM:If anything real was ever going to be done to rein in the thug administration and its misbegotten war and its criminal minions it would have been done by now by the Dems whom we elected last November to do just that. So far its been 100 percent political theater and zero percent real action. Dems are chickensh*ts pure and simple. Presumably there is some political calculus here that explains their apparent inability to hold anyone truly accountable. In any case, is there anyone posting on this blog who wants to put money on the Dems succeeding in holding Rove accountable for anything he ever did as Bush's brain? I am willing to cover all bets.
phil james wrote on December 13, 2007 2:25 PM:Oh. And by the way. Specter is the mole in the SJC. He keeps the WH up to date on all the ongoing deliberations so they can develop counter-strategy in real time. And he gets to vote with the Dems once in a while when his vote WOULD NOT MAKE A DIFFERENCE just to keep his cover--such as in this case. Mole or snake. Take your pick. But he is their man. Look back over his track record.
And Yet... wrote on December 13, 2007 2:30 PM:Hope springs eternal for the SJC to actually do something on these subpoenas, but we've seen this movie before, haven't we? Sorry to be cynical, but the usual plot is...
Specter throws in on the ground floor. The real reason- so he can undermine it later.
Leahy will……watch him do it.
AND be really, really annoyed.
Alguien wrote on December 13, 2007 2:39 PM:Dear Paul:
unclesmedley wrote on December 13, 2007 2:45 PM:Your penultimate sentence: "Or maybe nothing will happen." appears as the most likely scenario.
Unfortunately, given all our repeated experiences with the SJC I think more and more people will be inclined to tune out rather than staying tuned and getting slapped in the face.
Dan Perino is a real purty lady...
nofltwlt wrote on December 13, 2007 3:13 PM:SPECTER - WHAT A FUCKING TOAD!!!
The real story here is who will win the office poll that predicts when Specter will cave to the administration's directive on what his views really are.
SocraticGadfly wrote on December 13, 2007 3:14 PM:Pelosi do something? Puh-leeze.
slb wrote on December 13, 2007 3:51 PM:>> as press secretaries go, Dana Perino is SMOKIN'!!! <<
Yah, but the real question is WHAT is she smokin'?
slb wrote on December 13, 2007 3:56 PM:>> Specter . . . Mole or snake. Take your pick. <<
I prefer "weasel".
Registered sceptic wrote on December 13, 2007 4:53 PM:I'm with Phil James on the (in)significance of Specter's vote in favor of contempt -- since the Dems would have passed it without his vote it was just a ploy to pretend he's a legitimate actor rather than the stooge he always turns out to be when it matters. However, even though Specter is technically serving as a "mole" on the SJC, I have to agree with slb that he is also a "weasel". Now I know there's such a thing as a bollweevel so why not a "moleweasel"? Just askin'...
dweb wrote on December 14, 2007 1:24 AM:Watchin' Dana do her thing gives me frostbite of the groin....
Rocker5150 wrote on December 14, 2007 5:41 AM:"Presumably there is some political calculus here that explains their apparent inability to hold anyone truly accountable"
phil james wrote on December 14, 2007 3:07 PM:The explaination is that many of our representatives are absolute villians. I think the general public would be shocked to know the extent of criminality that is rampant in our Congress. Blackmail, bribery, as well as treason is apparently going on at the highest levels. If there is a better explaination, I'd like to hear it.
One simple explanation I've heard is that the unitary executive adolescent deciderer-in-chief and the thug Senate minority are enough to stalemate the razor-thin Senate Dem majority at every turn. Latest example is the SCHIP second veto (which by the way doesn't seem to have gotten any media play anywhere compared to the first veto).