Why Republicans Suck (#3)

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned today, another in the long line of resignations of people who were involved with the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year. Senators on both sides of the aisle have expressed a lack of confidence in Gonzales’ ability to run the Justice Department and the director of the FBI offered testimony to Congress that contradicted statements Gonzales had made to Congress - but Gonzales was still allowed to keep his job. Until today.

According to the article linked to above, Bush did not attempt to dissuade Gonzales when he called Bush last week to offer his resignation, but instead accepted the resignation with reluctance. Bush then went in front of microphones and said that it was “sad” that such a good person as Gonzales had to have his career turned upside down for political reasons.

Or, you know, for lying to Congress. Or for conspiring with the White House to fire at least one attorney who refused to investigate Democrats just before last year’s midterm elections. Wouldn’t that be turning someone’s career upside down for political reasons?

Like the Michael Vick circus has little to do with conspiracy and dogfighting, this resignation - and the resignation last week of Karl Rove - has little to do with owning up to crimes committed against the American people. These resignations have everything to do with helping the GOP avoid a bloodletting next November.

It’s possible that Bush himself knows - but it’s more likely that someone smarter than he is on his senior staff told him what he needed to know - that his influence on voters will not be significant if the current political climate is the same come election day as it is today. Just ask John McCain how it feels to have stuck with Dubya for so long. McCain was once the front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2008; he is no longer.

Supporting the President next year will be political suicide. The White House is lost, of course (and at this point it’s not even a question of which Democrat is going to win - the only question is what Bill will be called instead of First Lady) - but it’s possible that they can win back seats in Congress, although Bush will have to continue to make concessions like allowing Gonzales and Rove to resign. It is likely that Bush will never own up to his crimes or the crimes committed by his cronies; but by accepting their resignations he can plead “no contest” and hope to salvage some dignity for a once-decent party that he has helped to corrupt like no president since Nixon.

Had the damage not already been done, I might have commended Bush for "accepting" these "resignations" - and the "resignation" of Rumsfeld. But it's too little too late - and it's also a shame that people are going to credit Gonzales and Rove for stepping down. The damage has been done, and these guys get to step down with grace and dignity, like they've had some kind of positive impact. And I'm not sure which is worse - that this charade is being played out, or that there are people out there who actually believe it.