Gonzo Must Go

In a press conference this week regarding the firing by the Justice Department of eight regional U.S. Attorneys for what appear to be purely political reasons, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez conceded that “mistakes were made.” But like so many others serving at the pleasure of President Bush, the mistakes belonged to somebody other than Gonzalez.

Rather than take direct responsibility, Gonzo reminded the press of his humble origins, apparently in a preemptive attempt to thwart calls for his resignation. But those calls came anyway, from both sides of the political spectrum.

As with the Valerie Plame outing, Republican operatives and pundits assert that Gonzalez and his Justice Department broke no laws, which has become the Bush Administration’s dividing line between right and wrong.

If a law wasn’t broken, it couldn’t be wrong!

But the Bush team cannot grasp something the press has lost sight of - ethics.

Outing a CIA agent to smear an administration critic may not have been illegal, but it was clearly unethical. As well, firing US Attorneys because they act independently of executive branch influence is an unethical outrage. For this reason alone, Gonzalez should be fired.

Recall that Gonzalez is same the administration official who provided legal cover for the Bush team to torture detainees. He’s also the official who argued that the widespread, warrant-less wiretapping of American phones was legal, when most knew it wasn’t.

Gonzalez has never been open nor forthcoming in front of Congress, opting to stonewall and evade questions that go to the heart of our constitutional liberties. Like strict constructionists on the Supreme Court, Gonzalez interprets some laws strictly and ignores others to suit the purposes of his masters.

Sadly, because he has been a loyal Bush crony for decades it seems highly unlikely that the Great Decider will deign to get rid of him. To President Bush, loyalty overrides everything, including incompetence and unethical behavior.

Whether it’s Alberto Gonzalez, Scooter Libby, Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft, Karl Rove, or any number of other bad actors in the Executive Branch, the common denominator is Dick Cheney and his imperial, hawkish, ideologically driven policies. Bush has the starring role, but Cheney is clearly the director, and everyone else follows his lead, even if it leads them off a cliff.

Congress may not be able to force Gonzalez to resign, but only by impeaching Dick Cheney for the Plame incident will they ever have a prayer of changing the course of this Administration.

Ultimately, the Bush Administration may follow the letter of the law but they’ve done everything humanly possible to trash and sully the spirit of the law. That Alberto Gonzalez has played a supporting role is particularly troubling, and yet another Bush-era disgrace.

- JT Compton