John Dean: AG Gonzales's "Reconfirmation Hearings": Why, In the End, They Will Change Nothing

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http://www.smirkingchimp.com/node/7099

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's "Reconfirmation Hearings": Why, In the End, They Will Change Nothing
by John W. Dean | Apr 27 2007

— from FindLaw (posted with permission)

The ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter, called Attorney Alberto Gonzales's command performance on Thursday, April 19, 2007, his "reconfirmation hearing." Needless to say, this was hyperbole -- for Gonzales has already been confirmed by the Senate long ago and thus will serve until he resigns or the President removes him. Neither of those events appears likely, although this saga has not yet ended.

By and large, the Gonzales hearings had few surprises. But the few that did occur were quite telling: There was a stunning lack of Republican support for Gonzales on the Judiciary Committee, and there was a remarkable change in White House procedures for contacts with the Department of Justice.

What was not surprising, however, was Gonzales's determination to stay in the job and Bush's disinclination to remove him- for this is consistent with the GOP presidential standard. Let's look at each of these features of the hearings, in turn.

The Striking Lack of Republican Support for Gonzales

There are nineteen members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, ten Democrats and nine Republicans. Based on the conduct displayed during the Gonzales hearing it appears that the Attorney General has the support of only two Republicans: Senator Orrin Hatch (R.UT), who tried repeatedly to rehabilitate Gonzales during the hearings; and Senator John Cornyn (R.TX), who sought to protect fellow Texan Gonzales. Both Hatch and Cornyn are hardcore conservatives.

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