• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

A consequence of cucumbers

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

… among the most cringeworthy communications in the history of the alphabet!

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

People are complicated. Love is not.

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

As long as McCarthy is Speaker, the House will never be in order.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Mobile Menu

  • Winnable House Races
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Balloon Juice 2023 Pet Calendar (coming soon)
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • War in Ukraine
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • 2021-22 Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Politics / And Speaking of Paranoid and Delusional

And Speaking of Paranoid and Delusional

by John Cole|  August 13, 20059:42 am| 17 Comments

This post is in: Politics

FacebookTweetEmail

It looks like the previous speculation about the replacement of the overseer of the Plame investigation was false:

David Margolis, a lawyer at the Justice Department for 40 years, was named Friday to oversee a special prosecutor’s investigation of who in the Bush administration disclosed the name of an undercover CIA officer.

Margolis, whose title is associate deputy attorney general, is taking the place of Deputy Attorney General James Comey, whose last day of work was Friday. Comey will be Lockheed Martin’s new general counsel.

Comey made the designation of Margolis. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has stepped aside from the probe because he was White House counsel when Valerie Plame’s name was leaked in 2003 and he has testified to the grand jury investigating the unauthorized disclosure.

Comey gave broad discretion to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald of Chicago when he was appointed to investigate the leak in December 2003. Margolis is not expected to alter Fitzgerald’s mandate in what are likely to be the final months of his investigation. The grand jury ends its term in October.

You can read all about the speculation about Bush replacing Comey with a ‘skull and bones crony’ here, courtesy of the ‘reality-based community.’

Since this post uses the word PLAME and also contains a mockingly derisive reference to the ‘reality-based community,’ consider this the flame warfare thread.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Like I Said
Next Post: It May Be Legitimate »

Reader Interactions

17Comments

  1. 1.

    DougJ

    August 13, 2005 at 10:58 am

    Fitzgerald serves at the Attorney General’s pleasure. If he goes too far with his investigation, the way the Iran-Contra independent counsel Walsh did, then he can should be removed. That’s part of the reason we got rid of the independent counsel law — every prosecutor needs some check on his authority. So it is only right that the Deputy AG should rein Fitzgerald in at some point if that becomes necessary.

  2. 2.

    neil

    August 13, 2005 at 11:59 am

    Yeah, John, it would be totally unreasonable to expect another Saturday Night Massacre. After all, Bush has scrupulously avoided hiring anybody who is in any way associated with the Nixon administration.

    Pfft.

  3. 3.

    Mike S

    August 13, 2005 at 12:39 pm

    Paranoia, or or knowing that he’s done things like it before?

    Inquiry Into Lobbyist Sputters After Demotion
    # The unusual financial deal between Jack Abramoff and officials in Guam drew scrutiny.

    By Walter F. Roche Jr., Times Staff Writer

    WASHINGTON — A U.S. grand jury in Guam opened an investigation of controversial lobbyist Jack Abramoff more than two years ago, but President Bush removed the supervising federal prosecutor and the inquiry ended soon after.

  4. 4.

    DougJ

    August 13, 2005 at 12:40 pm

    “but President Bush removed the supervising federal prosecutor and the inquiry ended soon after.”

    Again, that is his right as president. Elections have consequences and this is just one of them. If you don’t like it, TRY WINNING ELECTIONS.

  5. 5.

    KC

    August 13, 2005 at 1:09 pm

    Wow. Sometimes I do get the feeling that some Republicans are really the oldest traditional conservatives–they want a monarch! Yes, elections do have consequences, but sometimes people have to ask themselves, do they want lawbreakers to go unpunished, especially well-off people who break the law at taxpayers’ expense? I find it just so wild that after the 1990s, certain Republicans are so interested in ensuring that potential wrongdoers get off the hook.

  6. 6.

    DougJ

    August 13, 2005 at 1:18 pm

    Well, during a turbulent time of war like this, maybe a moarchy would be better. But it would certainly set a dangerous precedent, I’ll tell you that.

  7. 7.

    Mark-NC

    August 13, 2005 at 3:25 pm

    DougJ is truly amazing.

    My standard for telling if ANY argument is just partisan crap is simple – turn it around and look from the other side. If the conclusion remains the same, it’s not partisan.

    For example, can you imagine if Clinton had fired Janet Reno (and in effect removed Ken Starr) that DougJ would be saying saying “that is his right as president. Elections have consequences and this is just one of them. If you don’t like it, TRY WINNING ELECTIONS”.

    You can’t? Neither can I.

  8. 8.

    DougJ

    August 13, 2005 at 4:12 pm

    Actually, Mark, I don’t think that the AG can remove an independent counsel. Ken Starr had very different legal standing that Fitzgerald does. So Clinton couldn’t have done what you suggest. I’m sure he would have if he could have.

  9. 9.

    Bob

    August 13, 2005 at 4:17 pm

    I agree with Doug. A monarchy would set a dangerous precedent. Perhaps a junta, with members from the military, the banks and the oil industry to oversee the war.

  10. 10.

    jg

    August 13, 2005 at 5:37 pm

    So Clinton couldn’t have done what you suggest. I’m sure he would have if he could have.

    Would you have supported him doing it. Would you have said ‘ that is his right as president’?

  11. 11.

    Stormy70

    August 13, 2005 at 6:21 pm

    Curses! Foiled again. Hee hee.

  12. 12.

    Mark-NC

    August 14, 2005 at 8:02 am

    Actually, Reno is the one who allowed Ken Starr to expand his investigation from Whitewater – which, according to the first SP that the Republicans fired, did not involve the Clintons in any unusual way – to more promising ground where it might be possible to “get Clinton” with “something – anything”.

    Reno allow Starr to stray to the Vince Foster suicide (was that the third or fourth Republican attempt to get Clinton on murder?), and then let him stray into the Lewinsky matter.

    Neither of these had anything to do with his initial mission!

  13. 13.

    chadwig

    August 14, 2005 at 10:17 am

    DougJ should be ignored. He sees politics like a football match, he roots for his team no matter what the circumstances, period.

    Dialogue with him is wasted energy. His mind is about as open as the Queen Mum’s legs. In a Monarchy he would be the Court Jester; but not funny and soon beheaded.

  14. 14.

    Rome Again

    August 14, 2005 at 11:09 am

    It’s not paranoia when there is already a precedent to make one wonder if a certain something could happen again… nevertheless, I (for the moment) seem to stand corrected, and I surely hope you’re right.

    We’ll see. I’ll still lay 10 to 1 odds that Fitzgerald’s case is somehow prematurely put on ice. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m not… one thing is for certain, if the case does not wrap up soon, we’ll know something prevented the case from going forward. If that happens, I will do my best to make sure you eat crow.

  15. 15.

    Rome Again

    August 14, 2005 at 11:17 am

    Well, during a turbulent time of war like this, maybe a moarchy would be better. But it would certainly set a dangerous precedent, I’ll tell you that.

    So tell me DougJ, what do you think of a family that only two generations ago had a member in the Senate, whose son became CIA director before becoming Vice President after also fathering two sons who became state Governors, and the eldest becoming President himself?

    Welcome to the monarchy of Bush. No nepotism there, right?

    Incidentally, I hate nepotism so much, I will NEVER vote for Hillary.

    Men who become President should do so because their lives are meritorious, not because they had a father and grandfather who were high up in the US power echelon.

  16. 16.

    Rome Again

    August 14, 2005 at 11:20 am

    Correction:

    So tell me DougJ, what do you think of a family that only two generations ago had a member in the Senate, whose son became CIA director before becoming Vice President and President after also fathering two sons who became state Governors, and the eldest becoming President himself?

    I apologize for my typo.

  17. 17.

    Rome Again

    August 14, 2005 at 11:23 am

    Dialogue with him is wasted energy. His mind is about as open as the Queen Mum’s legs. In a Monarchy he would be the Court Jester; but not funny and soon beheaded.

    Gee, and here all along I thought he was the Jester’s little bird. “Dougie want a cracker?”

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Comments

  • NotMax on Excellent / Horrifying Read: The Patriot — How General Mark Milley protected the Constitution from Donald Trump (Sep 22, 2023 @ 1:15am)
  • Carlo Graziani on Excellent / Horrifying Read: The Patriot — How General Mark Milley protected the Constitution from Donald Trump (Sep 22, 2023 @ 12:53am)
  • teezyskeezy on Excellent / Horrifying Read: The Patriot — How General Mark Milley protected the Constitution from Donald Trump (Sep 22, 2023 @ 12:53am)
  • TeezySkeezy on Excellent / Horrifying Read: The Patriot — How General Mark Milley protected the Constitution from Donald Trump (Sep 22, 2023 @ 12:51am)
  • Omnes Omnibus on Excellent / Horrifying Read: The Patriot — How General Mark Milley protected the Constitution from Donald Trump (Sep 22, 2023 @ 12:48am)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
We All Need A Little Kindness
What Has Biden Done for You Lately?

Balloon Juice Meetups!

All Meetups
Talk of Meetups – Meetup Planning

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
TaMara
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Join the Fight!

Join the Fight Signup Form
All Join the Fight Posts

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Cole & Friends Learn Español

Introductory Post
Cole & Friends Learn Español

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!