Gonzales "leaked" the essence of his testimony to one of the news magazines this weekend.   Obviously the leak was intended to build support for the Administration's position in advance of the hearings and to embed the talking points into a compliant media.

The danger of leaking in advance, of course, is that the opposition (Democrat)will have time to build arguments to refute the Administration's arguments.  Apparently neither Gonzales nor any other member of the administration (read: Rove) is in the slightest bit concerned that Democrats will, or can, take advantage of the gift that has been handed to them.

I don't know what's worse:

The impunity with which the Administration operates, or;

The impotence of the Democratic Party.

I can hope that some staff members are awake and working this weekend and will, on Monday, shove
Gonzales' arguments right into the trash heap they belong in....

hizzhoner

Redeem himself? Please. I think we've gotten used to Specter's public hand-wringing, which is seldom backed up by his actions. With statements like this, he throws moderates a bone here and there but then promptly steps aside while his radical cohorts run roughshod over everything he supposedly believes in.

Remember when Specter tried to talk tough on wingnut judges after his re-election, only to utterly roll over when some repugs started making noises about removing his chairmanship? Specter's act is old and tiresome.

Jonathan,

You are forgetting something important:  Specter is a Republican.  They might make a little noise now and then to hone their reputations as independents or 'mavericks', but in the end they vote the party line.  The disciplinary mechanism in the GOP is very effective.

You are deluding yourself to think there is any hope for Specter.

Most of the "moderate" Republicans are very good at sounding reasonable, and then voting with their bloc anyway.  I prefer looking at their voting record to listening to their B.S.  I used to vote Republican quite often, and respect some of the Republican lawmakers, but a reasonable Republican is a dying breed.  Specter is more about posturing than integrity.  He will huff, and puff..... and not do a damn thing to hold the wrong-wingers accountable.

Just for everybody's reference-

complete contact information for members of the Senate Judiciary Committee

A moderate Republican is someone who will throw a man drowning 20 feet offshore a ten foot rope.

Jon, you are giving Specter too much credit for essentially having done nothing. Watch these hearings produce nothing of relevance and fall of the radar screen within a week because Specter's allegiance is to the GOP, and not to the country.

Another reason why Democrats have to regain control of Congress.

Where you went wrong is not in judging Specter's character (although I don't particularly like him, I'm willing to be persuaded that Specter is, for the most past, an honorable man), but in underestimating the lengths to which Bush's GOP will go to insure loyalty to the President's wishes and maintain strict party discipline.  By publicly making Specter's chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee an issue, and wringing from him pronouncements of loyalty as the price for him to maintain it, they guaranteed that he'd stay in line.

So the question is not whether Specter will redeem himself, but what will prevail, Specter's character, or his clear understanding of what's required of him in order to stay in power.

My feeling is that having gone along with Roberts and Alito, Specter is feeling as if there's a little more slack in his leash, enough that he can appease his conscience a bit by making the noises he's making now, prior to the hearings.  This may continue into the hearings themselves, but I'm pretty sure he will not go all the way, he'll pull back well before the point of no return.  

He'll end up pulling his punches and letting Gonzales off the hook, and he'll retain the chairmanship.  You may see a bit of grandstanding, but there'll be no practical consequences.

Watch Sen. Specter drop the ball today when he faces Gonzales's dog and pony show. I predict the Attorney General will blow a prodigious amount of smoke up Specter's arse and the rush will numb the poor guy's brain.

In addition to smoke Gonzales will go on full frontal attack, as per turd blossom's detailed instructions. He'll stun the committee with his OUTRAGE and SHOCK that anyone would question the Prezint's decisions on how to perteck americuns.

And watch what happens when the Democrats get their turns. Gonzales will turn up the heat. Another angry barrage. Which will turn them into whipped yellow dogs pissing the floor, bellies up, begging the Alpha Male to not take another bite out of their cowardly asses.

And at the end of the day, the repugs will resume their fascist agenda. Bidness as usual. NOTHING HAS HAPPENED at the hearing, and nothing will the next time they convene.

Why?

Because the Democrats, after six years, have not yet learned how to effectively deal with Karl Rove's fascist tactics. And I'm afraid this just how it is, and absolutely nothing is going to change...at least in MY lifetime.

http://palcewski.com/JP

The only reason Specter is still in the Senate is Bush and the GOP right wing. He will trip all over himself to keep them happy. Bush has nothing to worry about from Arlen Specter.

Soon he won't be able to....

All it will take is a bad SCOTUS decison re Roe or Griswold.  Specter's political gift is that he has been backed/protected by the pro-choice crowd.  When his chairmanship was at issue (November 2004 to February 2005) he backed down and said he'd be a good party member.

I hate civil libertarians who cut and run.  Losing his chairmanship would have taken the GOP down in several frequently Blue states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Maine, Arkansas, Missouri, Florida) and caused problems in states with where being Red is more liberarianism than conservatism (Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado).  Progressives will take hits in New Mexico and West Virginia when Roe gets curtailed.

Telling the President he couldn't support a nominee with strident anti-privacy/pro government intrusion views would have cost Arlen NOTHING.  Alito gets confirmed with a 52 or 53 vote margin.

Its time to stop thanking progressives in the GOP when they swing left to help us out on an issue that is not a winner for Dubya and company.  (ie If you think its okay to spy on Americans, can we start listening to your phone calls?)  

Specter, Chaffee, Snowe, Collins, and McCain are a bunch of wimps.  They are gutless and the sooner they discover that throwing us a bone on a few issues won't prevent us from electing true progressives to replace them, the better --- our message should be simple.  "Be a Conservative or be a Democrat cause the GOP agenda is being written in a very small tent."