Alberto Gonzales is, yet again, standing on the precipice of controversy. In early December, eight United States State Attorneys were fired from their positions, the apparent result of not being dedicated enough to the president.
The situation threatens to burden the Bush administration with yet another controversy, which seems as commonplace as breathing at this point.
Nonetheless, surreptitiously playing politics with State Attorneys is disconcerting because it reinforces the notion that the Bush administration places a high premium on secrecy; one must submit to an almost cult-like level of devotion in order to stay in the president’s favor. Of course, this is the way politics operate, and it would be na’ve to believe otherwise. But the Bush administration performs these sorts political moves with a certain artlessness, like a man wielding a sledge hammer. It is as if Bush and his devotees simply don’t care how the administration appears. Or perhaps they do not see the wrong in their actions, such as their outing of CIA operative Valerie E. Plame.
Lying is the blunt instrument of politics, and Gonzales has been asked to wield it. Internal e-mails indicate that messages were sent between administration official Harriet Miers and Gonzales’ chief of staff. These e-mails, according to the Associated Press, indicate that many of Gonzales’ statements have contradicted each other. For example, he had claimed to have had no involvement in the attorneys’ terminations.
Now even Republicans are calling for Gonzales’ culling. New Hampshire Republican Senator John Sununu has called for Gonzales to be fired.
Perhaps Republican leaders understand something that the administration does not: that you lose credibility if you do not act transparently and do not present the facts accurately. Six of the fired State Attorneys had positive performance reviews. Gonzales’ performance review, if public outcry is any indication, is extremely negative.
“These failures have created a deep, widespread lack of confidence in the ability of the attorney general to effectively serve the president at a very important time,” said Sununu, as reported at CNN.com.
And it is an important time. With questions surrounding Gonzales’ belief that there is no right to Habeas Corpus and that warrantless wiretapping is lawful, Gonzales comes across as a bit of a rogue – or, perhaps, a political liability – who is unwilling to allow transparency in law enforcement.
Because Gonzales is such a political liability, it is strange that Bush still hasn’t distanced himself from the Attorney General nobody seems to like anymore. “I do have confidence in AG Al Gonzales (…) I talked to him this morning, and we talked about his need to go up to Capitol Hill and make it very clear to members in both political parties why the Justice Department made the decision it made,” said Bush, again reported at CNN.com.
Firing State Attorneys may not appear to be as terrible a transgression as, possibly, suspending Habeas Corpus, but it indicates a pernicious trend among our nation’s top law enforcement agency: Politicization. Further, firing State Attorneys for not being “loyal Bushies” creates an unfortunate dichotomy in which no middle ground exists.
Gonzales has stood by Bush’s side for years. They are, by all accounts, friends, partially due to Gonzales’ dedication to Bush. However, in these politically uncertain times for the Republican leadership, it is important for them to view Gonzales critically. Perhaps, in the future, we will begin to see bipartisanship in Congress directed against the Bush administration.
And if that is the case, then Bush will have no more supporters left – no one else to take his administration’s marching orders. Sometimes the best way of fomenting unity is by allowing for dissent.
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