Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
by Tim F| 68 Comments
This post is in: Sports, Republican Crime Syndicate - aka the Bush Admin.
Did you know that the president can order a private citizen to do things? It’s true.
WASHINGTON (AP) _ President Bush has ordered his former White House counsel, Harriet Miers, to defy a congressional subpoena and refuse to testify Thursday before a House panel investigating…
The outrage isn’t over yet. After he got off the phone with Harriet the prez called and ordered me to post this video. Apparently the demo software promotional clip in the beginning is part of the magic.
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[…] Former White House Political Director Sara Taylor told a tale, not all of it, to Congress. That was enough for Bush to direct or order former White House Counsel Harriet Miers not to show up at all. Taylor told a Senate committee she did not discuss the firing of attorneys with Bush. “Your answer that you did not discuss these matters with the president and, to the best of your knowledge, he was not involved is going to make some nervous at the White House,” Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, told Taylor. “It seriously undercuts his claim of executive privilege if he was not involved.” […]
The Other Steve
Yeah, and staff also swear oaths to defend the President, rather than the country and constitution.
The Other Steve
BTW, I think I got banned from Don Surber’s blog for questioning his Mark Foley defense of Vitter. I feel terribly saddened by this.
Fledermaus
This is textbook “obstruction of justice” why the hell is this petulant man-child is still in the oval office?
Punchy
I’m surprised he hasn’t ordered Congress to pass his immigration bill.
This has become a farce of epic proportions. Of course, with that in mind, CNN is headlining a story about some obscure bank heist.
I’m still waiting for Bush to order me to get laid.
cleek
other than the fact that the Democrats haven’t yet met a fight they couldn’t back down from, i can’t think of any good reason.
pop
So much for co-equal branches of government. If Congress pursues a contempt violation Bush pardons Harriet. Unless they’re prepared to find this constitutes impeachible conduct, this goes nowhere.
Tim F.
It sounds like he can order Harriet around. I bet if you call your Senator they could work something out.
The Other Steve
via yglesias
BusinessWeek article on Medical wait times
As it turns out, the waiting line in America is worse than most countries with universal healthcare.
The Other Steve
I apologize in advance for bringing up more interesting and important things other than Punchy getting it on with Harriet Miers.
ThymeZone
Can you ask him to order my boss to stop piling work on my damn desk whenever somebody quits around here?
John Cole
Funny how fast you leftards forget that CLINTON GOT A BLOWJOB!
Dreggas
can he order it so I don’t ever have to pay taxes again?
The Other Steve
This is an interesting read. Once again, from yglesias.
If I’m reading right, one example they give is the Spanish defeat by the British in 1588 leading to the collapse of the Spanish empire. Apparently Spain decided to engage Britain at the time, because Britain was supporting rebels in the Netherlands.
The article looks at the similarities between this overreach, to calls for America to invade Syria or Iran.
Zifnab
Yes, but that was a polite request.
Punchy
Whoa. Is this what Tim meant? (chyme making its way up esophagus).
I bet it must be hard for Fred Fielding to work for these guys. I bet on a daily basis, he just looks at his inbox and shakes his head, mumbling “they want me to justify what???”
Then he glances at his law diploma and is forced to put it in the closet, out of sight.
Dreggas
but did he order it?
Rome Again
Are you insinuating that Monica didn’t WANT to give it to him?
Fledermaus
While he’s ordering people about perhaps he could find the time to commute the sentences of all my clients as well like he did with Libby, I could have a 4 day weekend!
Zifnab
Don’t forget how Hillary Clinton raped Vince Foster.
ThymeZone
Oh fuck, that is funny.
Cain
Finally, a “But Clinton did it” that I can applaud.
cain
Ryan S.
Unfortunately any day now I expect the head of Homeland Security Mr. Jerkoff, to make an announcement to the effect, ” If the person known as Punchy gets laid, the terrorists win… I can can feel it in my
bgutt.”Which will cause the statement “That dirty librul Punchy wants the terrorists to win.” to become a true statement.
Jake
Of course he can, he’s Decider Man!
Just wait until they try to question AG da AG again. “Sorry, Decider Man says I can’t talk to you. So nyah!”
binzinerator
Gee, I thought it was consensual.
And wouldn’t that be obstruction of pharynx, not obstruction of justice?
Dreggas
possibly but if she inhaled it would definitely be obstruction of Windpipe.
Rome Again
but, if she inhaled, that means she didn’t know how to do it right. ;)
binzinerator
Yep. You leftards.
And there’s rightards too. And libtards. Neocontards is too redundant.
Say, what about libertariantards? (just doesn’t have a ring to it; maybe that’s why libertarians never get anywhere)
Leotards (idiots born late July to late August)
AND… for those idiots who are idiots all the time:
Unitards
Tardee-har-har!
(I figure any thread that brings up the suggestion of a poster getting it on with Harriet Miers can withstand the preceeding OT. Besides, it just don’t get any more yucky that than unwanted mental image. Yeesh.)
Dreggas
very true.
Punchy
This’d be much funnier if I didn’t actually think that there’s a very good chance he’ll do this in future investigations.
binzinerator
Uh, I think that’s what our unitard president has been doing for years now, in every investigation.
Ellison, Ellensburg, Ellers, and Lambchop
I personally don’t see any quote from anyone in that story saying there was any “order.” So no mention of an “order,” yet it’s the AP’s headline? Anybody here find that a bit curious?
So given the AP’s recent track record for unbiased reportage, I’m going to assume that the White House requested (definition 5a in MW of “directed,” which is the word the attorney used) that she not testify, as that seems infinitely more likely than the AP’s more sensationalist, EvilBushHitlerBurton version.
By the way, here’s how the press treats the word “directed” when it’s a Clinton doing the “directing:”
Democrat: directed and ordered are two different things.
RepubliNazi: substitute “ordered” for “directed” in headlines and ledes. And try to spell “ordered” so that it reads well in a Col. Klink-y Nazi accent!
No, there’s no media bias!
LarryB
Jeez, you don’t have stretch your historical analogy that far…how about the USSR Afghanastan debacle leading to the fall of the Berlin wall? Much closer to home, especially since we appear to be pretty much on track to repeat ing it.
grumpy realist
Good article from Marty:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marty-kaplan/i-believe-for-every-drop-_b_55753.html
I especially liked the comment about Bush having turned narcissism into a theory of government.
Tim F.
Nice work lambchop, an unsupported allegation and an inappropriate analogy (Lindsey and Blumenthal were working for the WH at the time). This must explain why they pay you the big bucks.
Rome Again
After all the shenanigans this man named Bush has pulled, the fact that you can still pipe his bullshit makes me believe you are nothing but thoroughly insane.
::ignoring the Lambchop, and will only consider it as a possible entree for a not-too-distant dinner!::
Ellison, Ellensburg, Ellers, and Lambchop
Suuuure… unsupported allegation… Care to be specific or anything? Is the word “order” in a quote and I missed it? Please point it out to me.
And, as is your wont, you misread (really, Tim…ignorance or dishonesty? This happens so often…). I clearly wasn’t comparing Lindsey/Blumenthal to Miers. I was quite plainly contrasting the use of the word “directed” vs. the use of the word “ordered.” Can you think of a reason the AP substituted “ordered” for “directed” only in Bush’s case?
I know, it ruins your silly little thread, title and all, but come on. This is so rudimentary.
Ellison, Ellensburg, Ellers, and Lambchop
Sorry, Rome, but you’ll have to inform us what “bullshit” of Bush’s I was “piping.” He’s never made any of the points I just made, AFAIK.
I know, you’re not thinking, you’re ranting. “Anyone who doesn’t excuse everything the anti-Bush mob does is a Bush bullshit piper!” Whatever, dude.
Jake
Perhaps you know something about Clinton that we don’t?
Zounds.
Chad N. Freude
You are going to be wrong.
Rome Again
Don’t act like I don’t know what team you play on man, and don’t pretend that your side is being persecuted by the media when the media has been on your side from the get go.
Perhaps you should have spent the last six years standing on MY side of the fence, where what we feel and believe couldn’t even be MENTIONED on a fucking television or in a a newspaper. Take your bullshit and play it elsewhere Lambchop, you’re not fooling anyone.
Tim F.
No you’re quite right – it’s actually two inappropriate analogies. Everybody whom you mentioned was in the White House’s employ at the time that your “infractions” occurred. Even if your feverish freep conspiracies turned out to be correct (they didn’t, life is tough sometimes) you would still lack a point.
It amuses me to no end that you fixate on the difference between the words “ordered” and “directed” when in the context of the president speaking to a private citizen the difference is entirely irrelevant. He commanded, ordered, directed, whispered quietly but urgently in their ear, whatever. Since they don’t work for him it amounts to the exact same thing. Too bad, you seem bright enough to figure that out without my help.
Chad N. Freude
You left out prohibited.
Chad N. Freude
I am both Amused and Bemused by the seeming inability of Lambchop, Paul L, and all the other AHA! shouters to do a little fact checking when there’s a conclusion just waiting to be jumped to.
Dreggas
I believe I will call it the “Frogger Theory” of blog debate.
Chad N. Freude
Fixed.
Jake
Alternate fix.
garyb50
Congratulations, Ballon Juice Commenters… You have once again produced another in a very long line of meaningless posts.
You never let me down.
Chad N. Freude
That’s why we’re here, man.
Chad N. Freude
Gary, are you French?
ThymeZone
Michael Chertoff has a gut feeling about you.
Krista
“Clog debate”? Are we back to discussing obstructed windpipes again?
Rome Again
You were blown away by it, weren’t you? Go ahead and admit it. ;)
Chad N. Freude
Since nobody else has said it, I guess I have to.
The difference between Harriet Miers and Monica Lewinski is that the President ordered Miers to keep her mouth shut.
Lee
Holy Crap! I couldn’t stop watching that. I was mesmerized… I think
Zifnab
PotD!
Of course, the executive privilege meme is getting to be a bit harder to swallow. And after the way they took Sarah Taylor to the cleaners, I wouldn’t be surprised if that last deposition really stained her record. The Senate really gave her a dressing down, eh?
My favorite bit of the entire affair was when Arlen Specter points out at the end of it all that Sarah Taylor would have been better off if she hadn’t answered a single query, rather than giving a dozen dodgy half answers that more or less handed Leahy everything he could have expected to get.
mattski
man i’m a little too tired to add snark after getting through that work out video. Man am i beat
jake
Maybe if it starts drinking pineapple juice.
Jon H
It’s only a matter of time before Bush converts to Islam and marries Miers, so she doesn’t have to testify against him.
Cain
You shouldn’t believe everything Monica Lewinsky says, Jake.
cain
tBone
Really, Tim…ignorance or dishonesty? This happens so often…
Face
Wow, the talking chick’s got some serious DSLs. Like catapillers glued to her face. Nice.
And is that a dude in the back?
Rusty Shackleford
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Harriet Miers is still a virgin.
chopper
eeeeeewwww…
The Other Steve
Does having hot lesbian sex count against virginity?
Andrew
Is Hillary wearing a strap-on?
Jake
“Hot” and “Harriet Miers” only belong in the same sentence if she has a fever. “Harriet Miers” and “sex” only belong in the following sentence: “Harriet Miers is a member of the female sex.”
BIRDZILLA
Bush is no differnt then Clinton they both are not abiding by the laws they have made