The Discerning Texan

... It's hard to imagine a stupider response to the fired-attorneys non-scandal than to sack Gonzales, sack McNulty -- and then to nominate a new AG and DAG who would be "movement conservatives."

Let's engage in a little Politics 101, a new category I just added. What would actually happen in real life if Bush took the Democrats' advice?

1. He fires Gonzales and McNulty;
2. Regardless of whether they depart arm in arm, or if McNulty sneakily waits a few minutes before leaving, the net effect is the same: There would be two slots to fill at Justice, each requiring Senate confirmation;
3. Bush nominates a "movement conservative" to replace Gonzales;
4. Senate Democrats reject his nominee in committee;
5. Bush nominates another, who is also rejected;

At that point, the Biggest of Lizards continues, Bush can either cave to the Democrats and nominate a liberal AG, or else allow some emasculated deputy to run an impotent office for two more years; or he can keep sending conservatives into the Lions' Den to be eaten alive by the hyper-partisans--all scenarios with huge Democrat upsides. Of course Dafydd lays them out with more detail and clarity than I, but that is the long and short of it. Back to his conclusion:

Therefore, if Bush wants to retain any possibility of achievement in his last two years -- or even of staving off the slavering hordes of Democrats who desperately want to undo the last six years -- then he must not fire Alberto Gonzales in the first place.

Nothing good can come of it. We won't get another John Ashcroft; we'll get another Janet Reno. Or worse -- we might get another Ramsey Clark.

Gonzales is far from perfect; I consider him a thoroughly mediocre pick, though probably the most conservative AG Bush could have gotten confirmed following Ashcroft's resignation. But please understand: If Gonzales goes, any conceivable future scenario for de jure or de facto head of the Justice Department is much, much worse.

There is no upside to firing Gonzales. I do not believe that the president is so politically inept as to do so, nor that Congressional Republicans are so suicidal as to push it. But even if I'm wrong about Bush's fortitude on this issue, I'm afraid I won't be much wrong about the dreadful consequences.

For the sake of the nation, the party, and for Bush himself, Alberto Gonzales must stay.

Labels: Justice Department, US Politics