Here's your chance, Democrats! DO NOT CONFIRM MUKASY

[BushOut06]

I really hope that we don't repeat the mistake that we made in approving Ashcroft and Gonzales. IMHO, if it's someone that Bush has "confidence" in, then it's not somebody that we want. But beyond that, this is a golden opportunity to take back control. If they want Congress to confirm their newest lapdog, they need to do a few things for us. A nice start would be to turn over all documents that have been requested - subpoenaed even.

[Common Sense Party]

1. So we make Bush appoint someone WE want?

Cool. Who do we want as attorney general?

[aquart]

2. Now that's an adorable delusion.

[Common Sense Party]

12. Exactly.

I think the OP is in la-la land.

[blondeatlast]

7. Someone with a working grasp of the Constitution and a healthy,

doubting mind who is not allied with any of the Washington think tanks.

Disneyland is a lovely place to live, I'm telling you...

[SteppingRazor]

3. So we deny Mukasy, and the rabid right-winger who is serving as temp. A-G stays in?

Hell, I'd rather have Mukasy than Peter Keisler, one of the co-founders of the freaking Federalist Society, for God's sake.

[BushOut06]

4. We should at least get something in return

This administration feels that it can take all it wants, but give nothing in return. That's because we've been allowing them to do it.

[cali]

15. Ridiculous. The admin would love to keep Keisler

in. No way in hell are they going to turn over anything just to get an AG. They're happy with their pet acting AG.

[librechik]

22. WhiteHouse agreed to hand over the crown jewels yesterday

just to ease the nomination

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3031221


Yeah, I believe That!

[cali]

13. No shit. Leaving Keisler in there

to keep the shredders going 24/7 is a total nightmare.

[jaysunb]

5. What world have you been living in ?

Certainly not the reality based world of the USA of late.

The Democratic party is in a coma. They are just as complicit as their counterparts in permitting this country to be taken over by an authoritarian force that seeks to end America as we used to think we knew it.

There is no way the majority in Congress is going to go against Bushco under any circumstances or on any issue.

FORGET IT !

[Enrique]

10. they defeated Bush's first choice, Ted Olson

then there's this...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20070904/pl_cq_politics/bushsuccessratingathistoriclow

Bush Success Rating at Historic Low

President Bush’s success rating in the Democratic-controlled House has fallen this year to a half-century low, and he prevailed on only 14 percent of the 76 roll call votes on which he took a clear position.



The previous low for any president was in 1995, when Bill Clinton won just 26 percent of the time during the first year after Republicans took control of the House. If Bush’s score holds through the end of the year, he will have the lowest success rating in either chamber for any president since Congressional Quarterly began analyzing votes in 1953.



A study of House and Senate floor votes, compiled by CQ over the August recess, also showed that House Democrats have backed Bush’s legislative positions this year only 6 percent of the time, making for the strongest opposition from either party against a president in the 54 years CQ has kept score.



(...)

[cali]

16. Bush didn't nominate Olsen. n/t

[Enrique]

18. he wanted to, and the right wing wanted him to

Reid announced his opposition.

Some mocked Reid, predicted Reid would cave.

Bush caved and nominated Mukasey.

[MADem]

6. Unless something hideous comes to light, it's a done deal.

Schumer, who's on Judiciary (he's the foot soldier, the go-to guy, and would get the gavel if Leahy took a powder), is backing the guy. The bright spot is that this BOTHERS the conservatives (don't mind the source, the sentiment IS on point): http://bench.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MjY2MDQ0ZjdkMDdkMDJiOWIzNjUxNDc5OWY2OTRkZTE=

Mukasey, Schumer, and Aron


Conservative anxiety about the anticipated nomination of Judge Michael B. Mukasey to be Attorney General derives in part from the fact that Senator Charles Schumer and the Alliance for Justice’s Nan Aron appear to be so high on him. What do they know about him that others don’t? My inquiry has led me to believe that the answer is … nothing.


First, let’s review the facts. In 2003, Senator Schumer sent President Bush a letter in which he identified five Republicans—Senator Specter and four federal judges—whom Schumer thought could win unanimous support as Supreme Court nominees (though Schumer stopped short of promising his own support). Mukasey was one of the four judges. In 2005, Nan Aron listed the same four judges as “consensus nominees.” More recently, both Schumer and Aron expressed their preference for Mukasey over other AG candidates.



Someone who is close to Mukasey and whom I also know and trust assures me that Mukasey and Schumer have had limited contact over the years and that Schumer wouldn’t have any special insights into Mukasey’s understanding of the law. If this is the case (as I believe it to be), why, then, would Schumer put Mukasey on his 2003 list of Supreme Court candidates? The answer, I believe, is that Schumer’s 2003 list was a cynical effort to enhance his own standing to oppose whomever the President nominated to the Court. In other words, Schumer was promoting as Supreme Court candidates five individuals who he knew had no serious prospect of ever being nominated so that he could later paint himself as having been reasonable. And Aron simply cribbed his list.




Schumer’s and Aron’s current preference for Mukasey over other leading candidates is also easy to explain. Schumer and Aron don’t have as much trust that the other candidates will separate law from politics. Although I believe that they are wrong, their judgment is not surprising in light of the fact that some of the other candidates have been more engaged with the world of politics while Judge Mukasey has been on the bench for the past two decades. It’s easy to imagine conservatives making similar distinctions between AG candidates being considered by a Democratic president.

[Benhurst]

8. Not so fast! The 2008 elections are coming up, and we

need to keep our powder dry.

[EST]

9. Poor baby!

Take your medicine, now, and go back to sleep. The Democratic leaders have made a big show over their upset and supposed anger at some of the more egregious practices of the gangster goopers, but they settle down and lose their bluster.

Leahy used to occupy a huge slot in my hero-worship short list but no longer. His heart may be in the right place, but he's either lost his spine or else, at that advanced age, the "fire in the belly" is easily handled with maalox.

[cali]

17. If you don't understand why confirming Mukasey is

a far better option than not confirming him, you haven't a clue as to the dynamics here.

[EST]

20. Jeezus!

I'm so fucking sorry I don't conform to your idea of an intelligent, perceptive human being!

I apologize, massa, and I will try never again to post anything that might require you to answer me and show how much smarter and more worldly you are.
Sorry to have upset you---now, put me on ignore and enjoy your ivory tower in unsullied peace.

[bryant69]

11. It's easy enough for us to say that we shouldn't confirm anybody that Bush sends over

But is that really a practical idea?

Bryant

[cali]

14. Good job demonstrating you know absolutely NOTHING

about either Mukasey or, more importantly, Keisler.

[L. Coyote]

19. WOW!! Out of touch with the facts or what? Try reading DU!

Keisler is totally undesirable.

For more background on this Gonzo clone:

The NEW Acting Attorney General = Peter Keisler = Who is he? Just a Gonzales CLONE?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1839232

Leahy CAVES to BUSH?? Sets Confirmation Hearings for Mukasey to be Attorney General
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2018432

[Freddie Stubbs]

21. Reuters: Leahy expects Bush nominee Mukasey to be confirmed

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said on Tuesday he expects retired judge Michael Mukasey to be confirmed as U.S. attorney general, succeeding Alberto Gonzales who resigned under pressure.

On the eve of the Mukasey's confirmation hearing before Chairman Patrick Leahy's panel, the senator also said he believes Mukasey, unlike Gonzales, would be independent of the White House.

"There are still some within the administration that want the Department of Justice just to be a political arm of the White House," Leahy said.

"I want that to change. I think he can change it," Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, told reporters after a private meeting with the former federal judge.

more: http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1618775820071016