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(Democrats like "guys who had a mission." A political mission.)

By Mark Kilmer Posted in Special Features — Comments (13) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Sunday, July 8, 2007
On FNS, Brit Hume was in for Chris Wallace, and he opened by talking to Republican Congressman Chris Cannon of Utah and Democrat Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. Van Hollen, who runs the House Democrats' campaign operations, repeated talking points about grave things like the "entire integrity of our criminal justice system." Cannon called Patrick Fitzgerald a "guy who had a mission," and the same could be said of the Democrats. Van Hollen came off as a junior-grade Terry McAuliffe, while Cannon was calm and assured, ending with the question of for all this investigating corruption, just what have the Dems found? Nothing.

Congressman Pete Hoekstra of Michigan was next on FNS, and he also was calm and assured. He stressed the gravity of the Great War on Terror is being fought against "radical jihadists," and that it was not a "bumper sticker slogan." He defended the "enhanced interrogation techniques" against John McCain's criticism. He does not find them to be tortured and insists that they have been used with only a small number of captive radical jihadists and have produced some valuable intelligence.

On NBC's Meet the Press, David Gregory was the substitute for Tim Russert this morning, talking with Chuck Hagel. The man who was ahead of his time, breaking in front of the pack before the Republican stampede to end the war. Hagel called on the U.N. to end the war. He said that LBJ was immoral and wrong but added, upon prodding, that he wasn't really ready to call President Bush those things. Yet. Vietnam was an "edifice of lies," wrote TNR's John Judis, and Chuck Hagel added that Iraq was an "edifice of distortion." Chuck Hagel has not decided if he will run for President, and he has not even decided if he will seek reelection to the Senate. He said that the most qualified people currently seeking the Presidency are John McCain, Joe Biden, and Chris Dodd. Chuck Hagel does not approve of the President's decision to commute Scooter Libby's jail sentence.

On ABC's This Week House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers of Michigan threatened to find everyone in contempt of Congress. Ron Paul, next, said he was not a "protectionists" because he favors international trade. Steph then talked to Mike Gravel, former U.S. Senator from Alaska and notable French Canadian (born in the United States). Gravel is for what the left likes, for the most part, but champions the "Fair Tax."

On FTN, Chuck Schumer predicted the Democrats will be victorious if the matter of executive privilege goes to court. Orrin Hatch called the clamor over the firings of the U.S. attorneys, "a fishing expedition." (The Democrats are guys with a mission.) Schumer wants Fitz to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee because he might have good stuff on the Bushies.

On LE, Major General Rick Lynch, commander of coalition forces in central Iraq, said that the current strategy was working but needed more time to do so. He dismissed allegations by some retired general (Perhaps Batiste?) that the armed forces were at some sort of "breaking point."

Next on LE, Arlen Specter said that she shares Dick Lugar's deep concern but wants to hear more information, including General David Petraeus's report in September. Leahy said that we couldn't invade Iran because we're overspent in Iraq, and he wants to call Fitz to testify, but suggested to Specter that he could also talk about such things as why he hassled Libby and Judy Miller after he knew that Dick Armitage had released Val Plame's name and that there was no crime. Specter suggested calling the President. Leahy said pointed out that Fred Fielding had worked for Dick Nixon.

(Read the review beneath the fold.)

CANNON AND VAN HOLLEN ON FNS. With Brit Hume in for host Chris Wallace, FOX News Sunday opened with a talk with two Congressmen: Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen and Utah Republican Chris Cannon. It began as a discussion of the Scooter Libby pardon and moved, as a matter of course, into the firings of the U.S. attorneys.

Van Hollen called the Libby commutation, a show of "contempt for the concept of equal protection." You see, lots of people apply for a pardon but only the CRONY gets one. It "undermines the people's faith" in our system of justice, Van Hollen insisted, because the Bushies can break the law and get a "free pass."

Cannon averred that this was not about Republicans vs. Democrats; rather, it was a prosecutorial matter. He suggested that no one was prosecuting Val Plame for saying one thing about recommending Joe Wilson for the trip to Niger to one person then something else to Congress later. He pointed out that Clinton (Bill) was guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice, but had had not been prosecuted. Libby was not a new standard.

Hume posited that Libby's crime was not the one Fitzgerald was appointed to investigate; rather, it came about only because there was an investigation. Well, Van Hollen sees this matter as something far graver. "The entire integrity of our criminal justice system" is in question, he insisted. Libby's judge was the expert on the crime, Van Hollen said, and no one has a right to question his judgment on the penalty.

Cannon pointed out that Pat Fitzgerald was "a guy who had a mission." (Like I've said, Fitz had to get blood somewhere.) He said that Libby had a "memory issue," and the President has the opportunity to review what the Judge did. Under our system of justice, Cannon said, what the trial judge does is "not definitive."

Cannon said that the issue the Democrats were pushing with the US attorneys was corruption. There have been dozens of hearings to date, and the Democrats have found nothing. Added Cannon: "I'd prefer that we not waste our time in the Congress with witch hunts." (Thought I, to paraphrase what Cannon had said earlier, Congressional Democrats are guys who have a mission.)

Van Hollen countered by pointing out that the Congressional Republicans didn't raise a stink and investigate everything, but the Democrats were power now. It was as if he had broken into song: "I am Democrat, hear me roar/ With noises too loud to ignore!"

Representative Cannon asked what the Democrats had uncovered. What have they found? What improprieties have they shown? NOTHING.

But they remain on a mission.

Chris Cannon was calm and assured. Chris van Hollen reminded me of former DNC chair Terry McAuliffe before he stopped allowing joint interviews with Republicans.

HOEKSTRA ON FNS. Hume next spoke to Representative Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. (This was another calm, assured Republican. I'm still waiting for the media-described panic.) Hoekstra explained that the "radical jihadists" want to create the Caliphate, and the recent Ayman al-Zawahiri cassette reinforces this. Because of some of the references on the tape, Hoekstra said thought it was newer than three or six months old. (Zawahiri cites a more recent Tom Friedman column, for instance.)

As an aside, I want to see a non-radical jihadist; only for a moment, then he can be dispatched.

Picking up on John Edwards's recent, lamentable assertion, Hoekstra insisted: "This is more than a bumper sticker. This is a real threat." He wants to know if the Democrats think that the radical jihadists are a real threat; if not, then pulling out of Iraq "is not a big deal" to them.

Hoekstra is less concerned with setting up a "Jeffersonian democracy" in Iraq that he is with creating "security and stability."

Hume indicated that the Democrats would not try to cut off funding for the war on terror, and Hoekstra warned him not to be so certain of this.

Hume asked Hoekstra about the "enhanced interrogation techniques" which John McCain calls, "torture." Hoekstra, with his position on the House Intelligence Committee, knows about them and how often they are used. He does not believe they are torture, and he insists that they are used on a "very small number" of prisoners. He said that they produce valuable intelligence, but he would not go as far as some folks who insist that they produce the 'most valuable intelligence.'

Hoekstra pointed out that al Qaeda claims Iraq is the central front in the Greater War On Terror, as they strive for the Caliphate. He acknowledged that it would be very difficult for the Democrats to cut off funding for the GWOT.

CHUCK HAGEL ON MTP. It was David Gregory in for Tim Russert, yakking it up with Senator Chuck Hagel on NBC's Meet the Press this AM. Gregory showed us the "cold reality" on the ground in Iraq, with billions of US troops dead because of the "so-called surge," and the Iraqi government has done nothing. What troubles Hagel?

Hagel said we are not focused on the real issue, which is a civil war. There is no military solution, so he looks for a global solution. Hagel said Bush has "inverted the process" when he says that the Iraqis need security before they seek political compromise.

David Gregory pointed out that half the people in the Iraqi parliament are not participating in governing. Gregory asked Hagel if he had confidence in Maliki. Chuck Hagel said that it doesn't matter if he does. Support for the war "is eroding in the Republican Party," he said. By April, he continued, our military rotation system "will be so damaged" that it will fall apart.

Chuck Hagel wants Iraq to pass the global test. He wants a U.N. mediator to make things okay. He also said that the future of Iraq will be determined by the Iraqis.

Chuck Hagel does not think our current policy is "worth of the sacrifice."

Chuck Hagel said that we are "bogged down in Iraq," and this harms our ability to fight global terrorism. David Gregory pointed out that a "growing number of Republicans" (Four? Five?) want out of Iraq. Does Hagel favor a timeline?

Hagel didn't answer. He said that our influence in the region is "negligible." Hagel said that there are a lot of other things which have to be dealt with before any timetable or withdrawal.

Chuck Hagel said that the President blew it when he did not use the Baker-Hamilton report to seek a bipartisan consensus.

Chuck Hagel said that "one general" tells him that it will take a generation to repair our military?

Chuck Hagel said that the world wants America to be strong. We're now weak, because of Iraq.

David Gregory told Chuck Hagel that some say a withdrawal will create a mess in Iraq. Chuck Hagel, parroting an old Dem line, said that it is already a mess and cannot possibly get worse.

David Gregory asked Chuck Hagel about the parallels between Iraq and Vietnam. He quoted from TNR, John Judis, writing about Hagel earlier this month. War started by an "edifice of lies." That was Vietnam according to Judis. This war, according to Hagel this morning, was an "edifice of distortion." Bush wanted to "go to war against Saddam," he said. We weren't ready, but Bush wanted to do it.

Chuck Hagel said that LBJ was afraid to lose the war so he keeps fighting it. "That is immoral," he says. "That is wrong." Gregory asked him if this applies to Bush, and Hagel said that Bush believes in his version of reality. He said he's never accused Bush of being immoral, but he left that option open.

David Gregory asked him about impeaching Bush. He said that Bush could be impeached "if there is a clearly defined, Constitutional violation of our Constitution." Hagel said that no articles of impeachment will be drawn up. Hagel talked of a situation in which the President becomes like LBJ, then "we'll see" about impeachment.

David Gregory played a clip of Chuck Hagel talking to Tim Russert about making a decision about running for President. This time, Hagel said he "will make that decision in the next couple of months." Hagel is also considering whether or not to seek reelection to the Senate. "For right now," Hagel is ruling out leaving the GOP, but he's leaving his options open, just because it is good to leave options open.

He scoffed at the media speculating about Bill Clinton possibly overshadowing Hillary in a parade. He scoffed at the notion that the most qualified candidate, John McCain, is being written off because he hasn't raised as much money. Hagel said that he has not thrown his support behind any candidate, and he might "if I don't run." He added that Joe Biden and Chris Dodd were highly qualified.

Chuck Hagel cited polls, saying that Americans have lost faith in both parties.

Chuck Hagel was disappointed in the President's decision to commute Scooter Libby's jail sentence. He accused the President of "selecting on a menu" what he liked about our system of justice and what he does not.

CONYERS ON TW. Like Pete Hoekstra, Congressman John Conyers represents part of Michigan, but the political similarities end there. Conyers is a Democrat who threatened to find the President in contempt of Congress if he claims executive privilege allows him to receive advice privately and refuses to give Congress what it wants: "We're going to pursue our legal remedies."

RON PAUL ON TW. Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, a candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination with more cash-on-hand than John McCain, said that he's not a Libertarian "r because it is more convenient to be a Republican. He can get on ballots. He insisted that he is not a protectionist, as he wants this country to engage in global trade. He thinks the global jihadists will leave us alone if we stay out of the Middle East.

MIKE GRAVEL ON TW. The Democrat was born in Massachusetts to French Canadian parents. He's a lefty who supports the national sales tax.

SCHUMER AND HATCH ON FTN. After a commercial for CBS' Big Brother "reality show," CBS White House correspondent Jim Axelrod guest-hosted CBS' Face the Nation, featuring U.S. Senators Chuckie Schumer and Orrin Hatch.

Axelrod opened with Senator Hatch: "Do you have a problem with the White House position on this?" Hatch does not, thinks they are using executive privilege properly. The White House had offered information and testimony, but there comes a point, Hatch insisted, and that private conversations are essential to the functioning of the White House.

"Chuck Schumer, where is this going to end?" Schumer doesn't think the executive privilege claims are very strong. If it will go to court, Schumer said, the Democrats will prevail. He said that both Leahy and Conyers have threatened Contempt of Congress proceedings, so the White House will likely negotiate (blink). Schumer demands a transcript, saying that without a transcript, it is meaningless. Because the White House is claiming executive privilege, Schumer insisted, they have something to hide.

Hatch called this a "Tempest in a Teapot." The President has the "absolute right" to do what he did with the attorney firings. He said that there has been no demonstration of any impropriety." He called it a "fishing expedition" and insisted that the White House should have confidentiality.

Hatch insisted that the President has an absolute right to commute and pardon. Axelrod insisted that Libby received "special treatment" because his commutation did not go through the Justice Department. Hatch said that he would have liked to see Libby pardoned. He reminded of Clinton's mass of pardons at the end of his term.

Schumer insisted that the commutation meant that Libby did not have to testify before Congress, but Libby would have had to do so if he were pardoned. Because it was a commutation, he would retain his Fifth Amendment rights, which would be used against a Democrat investigation.

Schumer said that Clinton's pardons were wrong and the pardon of Libby was wrong. He wants Fitz to come before his committee, which is chaired by Pat Leahy, to see if he had any stuff on Bush he could use.

Hatch insisted that both Clinton and Bush had an "absolute right" to grant pardons.

Axelrod asked if the "drip, drip, drip" of Republicans defecting on the war threatened to break the damn. Hatch reminded that Domenici does not want to retreat from Iraq. Schumer said that the dam was about to break because Republican Senators were being "pounded by their constituents" about the war. If the dam doesn't break now, Chuckie insisted, it will break in September.

BLITZER AND GENERAL LYNCH ON LE. Blitzer opened with Major General Rick Lynch's assertion last week that any sudden change in strategy would help the enemy and create a mess in Iraq. Blitzer wanted to know how much time Lynch, commander of coalition forces in central Iraq, needed to get to a point where he could draw down. The general said it would take him three months to secure his area – which includes the area south of Baghdad - and then more time to sustain it. He has only a brigade of Iraqi forces ready to move in, and he needs two. And they're working with local forces to maintain security.

Blitzer asserted that "prominent supporters" of Bush in Iraq are defecting and opposing the policy. He played a clip of Dick Lugar speaking. What does General Lynch say to Senator Lugar, who does not think the surge is succeeding? Lynch said that it takes time.

General Lynch is finding weapons caches with new Iranian munitions. They are working the border to block the flow of weapons from Iraq. He offered nothing on Joe Lieberman's suggestion of a U.S. incursion into Iran to stop the flow, saying that they wanted to stop the flow from coming in.

Lynch said that he's "never seen a more evil, a more vicious enemy."

Blitzer played a clip of a retired general, I think this one was Batiste (who works for the lefty VoteVets.org), saying that the armed forces were at a "breaking point." Lynch refuted that, saying that our soldiers were raising their hands to fight in Iraq: "We're not at a breaking point."

General Lynch said that our current strategy in Iraq was the right one, but "it just takes time."

LEAHY AND SPECTER ON LE. Wolf next spoke with Senators Pat Leahy the Arlen Specter, the chair and ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy said that he is not ready to be patient with the new strategy because he is sick of new strategies, this war has lasted longer than World War II, there were no WMD, and we are caught in a civil war. Specter countered that we would not have gone in if we knew there were no WMD. He said that he's going to "listen to Senator Lugar speak." He said that he shares Lugar's "deep concern," but he's not ready for a timeline. He said that he wants "to hear the debate."

Blitzer said that Iraqi National Security Advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie predicted chaos if the Maliki government fell. Leahy accused Rubaie of saying one thing to an Arab audience and another to the U.S. audience. He challenged the Arab world, "awash in petrol dollars," to "step forward and bring an end to this."

Blitzer quoted Joe Lieberman as saying that the Iranian government has, by its actions, declared war against us. Specter said that he would keep an attack on Iran on the table but would use diplomacy. He wants Russia and the PRC to help out diplomatically.

Blitzer asked Leahy if he thought the Administration wanted to use the military against Iran. Leahy said that there was no doubt that some in the Administration wanted to use the military option, but they could not because we had no military option because of Iraq, "one of the worst mistakes in the history of this country."

After a commercial, Pat Leahy said that the President has the Constitutional power to pardon whomever he wants, but he wishes that the President had shown more "Constitutional responsibility," which term he did not define. He repeated what Chuckie had said earlier that now Libby could take the Fifth if the Senate wanted to investigate Bush's lies regarding the Joe Wilson scandal™. Leahy said he might call Patrick Fitzgerald to testify against Bush. He said that they cannot call Libby because "his silence has been bought and paid for."

Specter said he's not sure what the whole Libby thing is about, when we knew Armitage was the leaker. Also, why was Fitz hassling Judy Miller when he knew there was no crime in outing Plame?

Leahy said that Fitz would testify before the committee if Specter didn't mind. Leahy said that he had many of the same questions as did Specter, and that perhaps we "would see an interesting hearing." Specter suggested that they wouldn't have to subpoena Fitz because he was watching LE "like everyone else." Blitzer suggested that Fitz might have something better to do, but he offered no suggestions as to what that might be.

Leahy wants the "stonewalling to stop," regarding the firing of the prosecutors. Specter wants to get to the bottom of it because it is essential to get rid of AGAG. He said he would take the White House up on their offer informally to talk to Harriet and Rove because they need to get evidence for to get rid of Gonzales. Leahy demanded all or nothing. Specter suggested that the closed-door session would be a chance for experienced prosecutors, like himself and Leahy, to get some information. Leahy pointed out that Fred Fielding had worked for Dick Nixon.

Specter suggested that they talk to the President. Leahy said that they ought to talk about it afterwards. Wolf pointed out that they were having talks on his show. Leahy suggested that Wolf would like to come to their meeting. Specter snapped that Wolf could come to the meeting "when he gets himself elected." I personally think the meeting between Leahy and Specter should be open, public, and under oath, but I'm just trying to follow their logic or lack thereof.
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