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The Top 10 Conservative Idiots
 The Top 10 Conservative Idiots, No. 298 July 9, 2007 One Hell Of A Commute Edition It was simply not possible to limit myself to ten candidates this week so the list is a little bit different, with all ten slots devoted to the commutation of Scooter Libby's prison sentence. (I know I've missed some other stories, but I'll try to fit them in when the Top 10 returns to normal next week.)  A Boatload Of Conservatives In the wake of Our Great Leader's commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence, Republican talking heads have had just one straw to clutch at - the infamous "Clinton did it too" defense. Clinton committed perjury! Clinton gave out dubious pardons! Whatever. If the "returning honor and integrity to the White House" administration wants to claim that at its best it's the same as the Clinton administration at its worst, that's fine with me. It must be a disappointment to the people who voted for them, but there you go. Let's recap:
Perhaps if Libby had owned up to wrongdoing, then, like Clinton, he wouldn't have been prosecuted either - or at worst gotten his sentence reduced to, oh, I don't know, probation and a fine. But he thought he could weasel his way out of it, and he was mistaken. So since King George decided to spare his former assistant from having to spend a single day in jail for his crimes, I thought this week it might be interesting to compare some quotes by conservatives past and present (along with a few news items) to find out how well they're doing with that whole returning honor and integrity to the White House thing.  I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors. -- George H.W. Bush  If there's a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. If the person has violated law, that person will be taken care of. -- George W. Bush  I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was sentenced Tuesday to 30 months in prison for lying to investigators looking into the leak of a CIA operative's identity. He also was fined $250,000. Libby was convicted March 6 of four counts in a five-count indictment alleging perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements to FBI investigators. -- CNN  When the court came back, according to reports from the ground, the judge has set up a process for which Scooter Libby and his attorneys can appeal both the judge's decision today, as well as the jury verdict. And given that and in keeping with what we have said in the past, the President has not intervened so far in this or any other criminal matter, and so he is going to decline to do so now, as well. -- Dana Perino  The Bush administration is trying to roll back a Supreme Court decision by pushing legislation that would require prison time for nearly all criminals. ... In a speech June 1 to announce the bill, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urged Congress to re-impose mandatory minimum prison sentences against federal convicts - and not let judges consider such penalties "merely a suggestion." -- Associated Press Libby may be behind bars within weeks after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today denied his request for release. ... U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton refused to let Libby stay out of prison during his appeal - which might take more than a year to resolve - saying that evidence of his guilt was "overwhelming." -- Bloomberg News  I'm not sure that you can take anybody who has a perjury count and say that they're all the same. Every count has to be considered differently. The President, as you know, looks very carefully at these things. -- Tony Snow In the week before (Karla Faye Tucker's) execution, Bush says, Bianca Jagger and a number of other protesters came to Austin to demand clemency for Tucker. "Did you meet with any of them?" I ask. Bush whips around and stares at me. "No, I didn't meet with any of them," he snaps, as though I've just asked the dumbest, most offensive question ever posed. "I didn't meet with Larry King either when he came down for it. I watched his interview with (Tucker), though. He asked her real difficult questions, like 'What would you say to Governor Bush?'" "What was her answer?" I wonder. "Please," Bush whimpers, his lips pursed in mock desperation, "don't kill me." -- Talk Magazine I respect the jury's verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison. -- George W. Bush  If we ignore this evidence, I believe we undermine the rule of law that is so important that all America is. Mr. Speaker, a nation of laws cannot be ruled by a person who breaks the law. Otherwise, it would be as if we had one set of rules for the leaders and another for the governed. We would have one standard for the powerful, the popular and the wealthy, and another for everyone else. -- Former Rep. Dick Armey (R-TX)  As the Supreme Court said in the "United States vs. Holland," quote, "Perjury, regardless of the setting, is a serious offense that results in incalculable harm to the function of the legal system, as well to private individuals," end quote. In my judgment, perjury goes to the heart of our judicial process and our very system of government and constitutes a "high crime and misdemeanor." What happens if we fail to act? It appears to me that we quietly embrace and even aid in the gradual subversion of our core belief that we are a nation of laws and that all of us regardless of wealth or power, deserve equal treatment in the eyes of the law. -- Former Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR)  And secondly, I certainly hope that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn't indict on the crime and so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation was not a waste of time and taxpayer dollars. -- Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX)  Perjury is not sex, obstruction is not sex, abuse of power is not about sex. It's important to understand that none of the proposed articles include allegations of sexual misconduct. The president is not accused of marital infidelity because such conduct is essentially private. But when circumstances require you to participate in a formal court proceeding and under oath mislead the parties and the court by lying, that is a public act and deserves public sanction. Perjury is a crime with a five-year penalty. -- Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL) President Bush, in defending his decision to let "Scooter" Libby escape prison in the CIA leak cases, argued that at least he would have to serve two years of probation. However, the federal judge who handed down the commuted 30-month sentence, pointed out Tuesday that, technically, this does not hold - since Libby did not serve any prison time at all he does not have to face probation. -- Editor & Publisher  I fear for my country when conduct such as perjury and obstruction of justice is no longer viewed with approbrium but instead is viewed as a sign of legal finesse or personal sophistication. -- Former Rep. James Rogan (R-CA)  I am very happy for Scooter Libby. I know that this is a great relief to him, his wife and children. While for a long time I have urged a pardon for Scooter, I respect the President's decision. This will allow a good American, who has done a lot for his country, to resume his life. -- Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN), July 2007  The third thing that I think is important to point out here is that we have a constitutional obligation, a constitutional obligation to act. And there are lots of folks who would counsel, Listen, let's just move along. It's sort of the Clinton so-what defense. So what? I committed perjury. So what? I broke the law. Let's just move along. I believe we've got a constitutional obligation to act. -- Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC)  Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who as Massachusetts governor refused to pardon an Iraq war veteran's pellet gun conviction, on Tuesday called U.S. President George W. Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's prison sentence "reasonable." -- International Herald Tribune  First, perjury and obstruction of justice drive a stake in the heart of the rule of law. When the Constitution was ratified, it was christened as the grand American experiment. America stood alone in being governed by the rule of law as opposed to the rule of kings, tyrants, czars, monarchs, emperors, chiefs, sheiks, lords, barons and lords, and even nobles. To our founders' credit, they created a republic based on the rule of law rather than a nation being based on the whims of man. The American legacy is that we have become the beacon of liberty to nations around the world who seek systems of government just like ours. We have an obligation to preserve the heritage of the rule of law now and for future generations. -- Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), 1998  Scooter Libby does not deserve to go to jail. I would remind Joe Wilson that Scooter Libby did not leak Valerie Plame's name. Richard Armitage told Robert Novak, we now know, about Valerie Plame's name, so this was an investigation that should never have happened. There was no underlying crime. -- Bill Kristol But if the same law applies to everybody equally, that's the American tradition. And that's what we're looking at. This has not anything to do with sex; it has a lot to do with suborning perjury, tampering with witnesses, obstructing justice, and perjury, all of which impact on our Constitution and our system of justice and the kind of country we are. -- Former Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL)  I think what the judge did today argues more in favor of a pardon because this is excessive punishment ... This is a very, very important - a man's life is at stake. And the reality is, this is an incomprehensible situation. They knew who the leak was and ultimately, there was no underlying crime involved -- Rudy Giuliani The United States Attorney in Manhattan, Rudolph W. Giuliani, declared yesterday that the one-year prison sentence that a Queens judge received for perjury was "somewhat shocking." ... If sentences as lenient as this one had been given to the Watergate burglars, he added, the whole Watergate affair would not have been uncovered. -- New York Times  Who is Hillary Clinton to criticize a presidential pardon that winds up being controversial, given her husband's record on pardons? And it wasn't just on the way out the door, those highly controversial pardons of people like Mark Rich. -- Kate O'Beirne There are no facts that I know of that support the criminality of the client based on the tax returns. -- Marc Rich's lawyer Lewis "Scooter" Libby Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., has scheduled hearings on Bush's commutation of Libby's 2 1/2-year sentence. "Well, fine, knock himself out," (Tony) Snow said of Conyers. "I mean, perfectly happy. And while he's at it, why doesn't he look at January 20th, 2001?" -- Associated Press  In total, the investigations into Clinton's issuances of executive clemency took over a year to conclude. The House Government Reform Committee didn't release its final report until March 2002, well over a year after President Clinton left office. The Justice Department didn't close its investigation, in which it concluded "it wasn't appropriate to bring charges against anybody," until June 2002. -- Think Progress See you next week. -- EarlG |
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