Qu'elle surprise

They did it.

Gonzales is our new AG.

I ought to be angry, hopping mad, foaming at the mouth with rage and fuming vitriol.

What I am is tired. Sad. Disappointed.

Not in the Democratic Senators. More of them stood up and voted for what was right than I had any reason to expect (esp. after they rolled over and let Rice be appointed Sec.of State. Yes, the Republicans can get anyone Bush wants, if they vote a party line, but they ought to have made them do it. It doesn't mean much that she was the nominee to get the most opposition since 1825, if that totaled a whopping 13 people).

The Republicans did what I have come to expect, accepted what the leaders of their party told them, without reservation, and without thought.

I am however, disappointed in one sentator in specific. John McCain.

He lost almmost all the respect I had for him when he stumped for Bush. I know why he did it, and it was craven. He was afraid Bush would win. He was really afraid Bush would win, even if he stumped for Kerry. I can accept that. I don't like it, it undecuts his man of principle image, but I can understand it.

But he did more than stand aside. Forget that I think McCain on the Kerry trail would have put a couple of nails into the Bush Coffin, I might be wrong, McCain went and campaigned for Bush. He went on national television and lied about Bush, said he was a good man, a good president and the hope of the nation.

Ok, he lost my respect. I'm sure he cares.

But he voted for Gonzales. He voted for a man who thinks Bush gets to pick and choose the laws which apply. He voted for a man who signed a memo saying 1: torture is what causes death, organ failure or pain equivalent to that, and 2: who said we could protect our troops by having an Executive Order, or other memo which detailed what they could do so they could defend themselves becuuse they were just following orders.

For McCain that ought to have been enough. He'd have been able to win the public opinion battle too. He went to Viet-nam a few years ago, and when the tour guide tried to say no one was tortured at the Hanoi Hilton McCain was able to say, "Yes they were. I was there."

But you know what... he's lost that high ground. He has just, with one little word, said torture is justified, or at least acceptable.

So, for John McCain... I shake the dust from my shoes as I walk away from his door.

More on "the bodies"

The Administration has appealed the Green ruling In re Guantanamo Detainee Cases in the District Court, up the Circuit.

The gov't (small surprise, and reminiscent of, "all deliberate speed") is fighting with every procedural tool it can find (ah, those glittering technicalities, so abhored when used by a defense att'y, looking to provide a zealous defense, but so handy when one needs to keep people in prison camps without a trial) to stall losing this one.

Green has agreed to stay procedural actions on the 19 cases her ruling affects (the 11 poor bastards who were told they get to fill out the forms, so we can laugh at them for trying, well they are still in the same boat).

This is where the ride gets interesting. Because this is almost certainly going to be an expedited appeal, the Circuit will sit on it soon. The Gov't hopes the Circuit will plump for them, in the interest of losing the keys to the cells. If that happens the prisoners lawyers will appeal to the Supremes. That will take awhile.

If, however, the Circuit upholds Green, 1: the other ruling will be outweighed, and those 11 other prisoners will be entitled to a real hearing. 2: It will almost certainly be appealed in the same way to the Supreme Court.

From here, I'd say the court isn't likely to go as far as Green did (holding the present tribunals are illegal), but they aren't going to accept the Gov't's position either.

It is possible (looking for silver linings) that Gonzo being appointed may make them less likely to be deferentionl to the claims of the administration (might even make O'Connor decide to stay on the bench... but that's more hope than expectation) because Gonzo has been involved (he says he never read, which seems to be damning in, and of, itself) memos telling the President he can ignore the law.


More intersting is what she didn't include in the appealIn agreeing to certify the case to the D.C. Circuit, Green said an immediate appeal was proper on the due process and Geneva Convention issues, but she refused to certify an appeal on her separate order Monday granting the detainees' lawyers access to the classified information the government had submitted to Green as part of its evidence supporting continued detention of individual detainees. She said that did not involve a controlling issue on which there was ground for differing views. But her stay of the pending cases during the appeal apparently will delay the lawyers' access to that information.

SCOTUS Blog