Regarding Kerik, I am scared shitless...

[truthpusher]

...that the administration that is supposed to be protecting and guarding our country is unable to do a decent background check on their choice for Homeland Security!! This is supposed to be the top guy in charge of our security and they didn't even have decent enough intelligence to find this crap out ahead of time! When I thought about this, I literally got a chill down my spine, I am sorry, but we are fucked. :-(

This administration is completely inept. We are being guarded by Barney Fife!

[Must_B_Free]

1. From Armorgate to Selectiongate

The Contards are not doing too well lately.

[G_j]

2. I don't think it is that really

I think they are used to today's Congress going along with ANYONE they put before them. Think Ashcroft, Negroponte, Goss.
It appears (torture enabling) Gonzales will be spproved.

[luaneryder]

7. There was a panel on

TV just the other day, that included Dems, and they all agreed that Kerik would be confirmed with no problems (this was before he pulled out). Gonzales will breeze right on thru.

[nostamj]

3. Barney Fife was a decent guy.

that cannot be said of anyone in the bush cabal.

[supernova]

4. Yes, stop dissing Barney

;-)

He always did the right thing... in the end. Even if Andy had to talk him into it.

This admin as always been prey to it's stronger members with bad intentions, sadly.

[truthpusher]

10. I love Barney, but you have to admit...

...he's not the right guy to have his finger on the button. Bush is Barney who's heart has been removed and replaced with a steaming pile of poop. (sorry for the description, it just sounded right).

[SpiralHawk]

5. You are being so mean to BushCo

Have you forgotten that it was our very own Fearless Leader who uttered these immortal words:

"I'm also not very analytical. You know I don't spend a lot of time thinking about myself, about why I do things."
- George W. Bush, Aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003

You can't blame a guy for not thinking about things like what an unqualified thug Kerik is, can you?

Henceforth, please demonstrate some kompassionate konservativism in your kritiques.

[neebob]

6. They're not incompetent

They do it intentionally, trying to get more of their gang members into the inner circle, and THAT's why you should be scared shitless.

Edit: IncompETent

[ElectroPrincess]

11. Exac-ta-mun-tay! ding-ding-ding

I only have to submit two words as evidence: John Negroponte

[ElsewheresDaughter]

17. BINGO!

[YDogg]

8. That is a scary realization ...

... but I think the key lies in Kerik's connections. Hell, he has most recently been working for Guiliani Associates (or something like that) working to rebuild Iraq's police force, as I recall. How in the heck did Guiliani get involved in that?? Another no-bid deal, I imagine? Not to mention Kerik's taser dealings.

There is nothing keeping the * cabal from throwing $$$ to anyone who will play their game, and Kerik was pushed for the job by Guiliani and others with some influence.

No background check needed: manus manum lavat.

Kerik just didn't play the game well enough up to this point. For once, the media took notice of his spotty past. Too bad he bowed out so soon ... it would have been entertaining to watch the fireworks if he had made it to hearings.

[Jon8503]

9. Look how they are treating this dam thing. Guiliani, media all

talking up how he made this decision on his own and was not asked to resign. Big fucking deal, he did this because he had to or what was to come out later. Also, still wonder why did they want this guy if everything we heard about him was true.

First he certainly did not represent the right wing Christian element by fathering a child and abandoning her and her mother. If this was true. Did we hear anything from the right about this?

The bankruptcy thing. They keep talking up his Iraq time and I had read he got the hell out of there as soon as he could and did not stay nearly the time he was supposed to have spent.

Taxpayers money for 30 busts of himself.

Man if this is the best they can do for Homeland Security or if this is the kind of priority they are putting on it, we are in trouble.

Why was Hillary and Schumer backing this guy?

We need MoveOn to take over this party. As they say they have bought and paid for it.

[unotrohombre]

12. What a freeekin hypocrite (Kerik that is)

Sheez, can't the B administration do anything right?
Kerik had an illegal for a house maid.
Probably not paying her federal with-holding or SS tax.
They should have vetted him a bit better before nominating him don't you think
Here is the guy that is going to be responsible for gaurding our borders and he hires an illegal immigrant and flaunts the law.
Somebody tell Hillary!
She should capitalize on this sort of BS hypocrisy

[SmokingJacket]

13. The illegal nanny...

was the least of his problems.

[truthpusher]

21. Initially I heard Hillary praised Bush for his Kerik choice, sorry.

[indigobusiness]

14. Bush is sending a message to the good people of America...

[ElsewheresDaughter]

15. EXACTLY!...

i've been :scared: shitless since dec. 12, 2000

[Cookie wookie]

16. They just wanted another criminal

to join their gang and figured with the stupidity of the American people and the corruption of the media that they'd have no problem doing it.

[Nothing Without Hope]

18. Did Rudy use up some of his political capital on Kerik?

Kerik has been Rudy's dog and everyone knows it. Did Rudy put Kerik's name in and was he picked in part to please Rudy? If this happened, I'm hoping that Rudy's standing with the cartel has been damaged a bit by the fallout from the Kerik embarrassment. It's always been a mystery to me why he has been so lionized. But then I think of who else in this administration has been lionized... And then there's the question of whether ANYTHING could embarrass them...

[soleft]

20. The appointment of Kerik was a test to see if Guiliani had any viability

in the Republican party. To see if the fundamentalist wackos had any tolerance for someone not of them. This means Guiliani is sunk as far as any political career - and the only Republicans we're going to see in any place of power is going to be of the same fundamentalist/dominionist/neocon cloth.

[KoKo]

19. New York newspapers outed the guy. They had the "goods" on him and

reported it! (unlike the cable whores) and just yesterday our new Dem Think Tank "Center for American Progress" listed all the "dirty deals" that Kerik has been involved with in a message to all it's members and the media...they called it "Talking Point."

I thought it was interesting that Kerik resigned over "Nanny" which was not mentioned in the list of "unsavory and maybe prosecutable" stuff he's been involved with. But, that he resigned the night after "CAP" released all the dirt was just great!!!

Here's what "CAP" put out yesterday:

HOMELAND SECURITY
Who Is Bernard Kerik?

Over the last several years, former NYC police commissioner Bernard B. Kerik, President Bush's nominee to be the next Secretary of Homeland Security, has become "a multimillionaire as a result of a lucrative partnership with former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani." Indeed, the New York Daily News suggests, Kerik's selection was less based on merit than it was on Giuliani's "pull within the White House" and "Kerik's work on the campaign trail" for Bush. Kerik's record, however, raises serious question about his motives, ethics and ability to defend America. Kerik abruptly quit a critical job in Iraq, mismanaged rescue efforts in the aftermath of 9/11, used his official posts for personal enrichment and has been plagued by serious scandals. Here is a detailed look behind the mustache:

KERIK ABANDONS CRITICAL POST IN IRAQ TO TAKE A VACATION: The Washington Post reports that Kerik's track record on issues of national security is "spotty." Appointed by President Bush to train a new Iraqi police force in 2003, "Kerik came under criticism for inadequate screening of recruits as U.S. authorities rushed to deploy the force. It has been plagued by desertions and by allegations that insurgents have infiltrated the ranks." Worse, Kerik "quit four months into his six-month tenure in Iraq, telling New York reporters later that he needed a vacation."

KERIK CRITICIZED BY CONSERVATIVES FOR POST-9/11 OPERATIONS: A prominent Republican member of the Sept. 11 commission, former Navy secretary John F. Lehman, sharply criticized Kerik "for failures of leadership during the terrorist attacks" of 9/11. Lehman said that Kerik allowed turf battles with the Fire Department to "hamper rescue efforts" and called Kerik's leadership at the time "not worthy of the Boy Scouts."

KERIK SENT COPS OUT OF NYC TO RESEARCH HIS PERSONAL MEMOIRS: As police commissioner of NYC, Kerik used city police officers – who could have been protecting the people of New York – to help him write a book he would sell for personal profit. The Washington Post reports that the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board fined Kerik $2,500 for "sending two police officers to Ohio to help research his best-selling 2001 memoir, 'The Lost Son.'"

KERIK'S STUNNING CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Kerik has made $6.2 million dollars in profits from his relationship "with Taser International, a Scottsdale, Ariz., manufacturer of stun guns." Kerik was appointed as a director of the company immediately after he had the NYPD purchase the guns as police chief. Since 2002, Kerik has hawked Taser's products to police departments around the country. Recently the company has made an "aggressive push to enter markets either regulated or controlled by the federal government, most notably the Department of Homeland Security." Thomas Smith, the company president, said the company would "continue to go after that business" at the Department of Homeland Security should Kerik be confirmed.

KERIK'S DIRTY DOOR DEAL: Failing to follow proper bidding procedures, Kerik spent $50,000 on four security doors for the NYC police headquarters. The doors were all too heavy for the floors of the police headquarters and three are now in storage. Shortly after leaving his post as commissioner, "Kerik became an adviser to a company distributing the doors." He later renounced the post after "the door-maker's president was indicted for defrauding the city."

KERIK SHILLS FOR THE DRUG INDUSTRY: In April, the Washington Post reported that Kerik opened a high-priced consulting firm to sell his New York City police credentials to wealthy corporate bidders. The firm was promptly hired by the pharmaceutical industry's chief lobbying group to build opposition to letting American seniors purchase lower-priced, FDA-approved medicines from Canada. Without any evidence, Kerik claimed reimportation could "invite terrorists to launch a biological attack under the guise of a legal purchase."

KERIK ACCUSED OF FORCING GUARDS TO DO POLITICAL WORK: Newsweek reports that in 1999, Kerik "was named in a civil lawsuit as the architect of a system to force prison guards to work for Republicans in their off-hours." The suit, brought by a warden, claimed that Kerik would "hunt down" anyone deemed "disloyal." The suit was settled, with the warden winning $300,000 and a promotion, while Kerik's protégé was indicted in connection the scandal.