PHOENIX
(By Jon Garrido, The Blue Dogs of the Democratic Party, Hispanic News,
and
Americause) March 9, 2007 — On February 3, 2005, Alberto Gonzales was
sworn in as the United States Attorney General
with the appointment of
an Hispanic to advance the well being of Hispanics being a monumental milestone.
That was then but
today the Gonzales appointment rings hollow and high in a squandered opportunity.
Gonzales may be Hispanic but Gonzales has become the point man for Bush
Cheney Republicans. Gonzales is only Hispanic on the outside and in fact, is no
longer a member of the Kingdom of Conscience with the moral compass of doing the
right thing to help all Hispanics — Democrat or Republican.
The Gonzales
appointment has become one of the greatest disappointments of modern times, not just
for Hispanics but even more important, for all Americans. Attorney General
Gonzales has categorically diminished the civil rights of all Americans and all
Hispanics living in the USA.
The Bush administration’s assault
on
some
of
the
founding
principles
of
American
democracy
marches
onward
despite
the
Democratic
victory
in
the
2006
elections.
The
new
Democratic
majorities
in
Congress
can
block
the
sort
of
noxious
measures
the
Republican
majority
rubber-stamped.
But
preventing
new
assaults
on
civil
liberties
is
not
nearly
enough.
Five
years
of
presidential
overreaching
and
Congressional
collaboration
continue
to
exact
a
high
toll
in
human
lives,
America’s
global
reputation
and
the
architecture
of
democracy.
Brutality
toward
prisoners,
and
the
denial
of
their
human
rights,
have
been
institutionalized,
unlawful
spying
on
Americans
continues,
and
the
courts
are
being
closed
to
legal
challenges
of
these
practices.
Three
fundamental
tenets
of
America
diminished
by
Bush,
Cheney
and
Gonzales
need
to
restored:
Restore
Habeas
Corpus
One
of
the
new
act’s
most
indecent
provisions
denies
anyone
Mr.
Bush
labels
an
“illegal
enemy
combatant”
the
ancient
right
to
challenge
his
imprisonment
in
court.
The
arguments
for
doing
this
were
specious.
Habeas
corpus
is
nothing
remotely
like
a
get-out-of-jail-free
card
for
terrorists,
as
supporters
would
have
you
believe.
It
is a
way
to
sort
out
those
justly
detained
from
those
unjustly
detained.
It
will
not
“clog
the
courts,”
as
Senator
Graham
claims.
Senator
Patrick
Leahy
of
Vermont,
the
Democratic
chairman
of
the
Judiciary
Committee,
has
a
worthy
bill
that
would
restore
habeas
corpus.
It
is
essential
to
bringing
integrity
to
the
detention
system
and
reviving
the
United
States’
credibility.
Stop
Illegal
Spying
Mr.
Bush’s
program
of
intercepting
Americans’
international
calls
and
e-mail
messages
without
a
warrant
has
not
ceased.
The
agreement
announced
recently
—
under
which
a
secret
court
supposedly
gave
its
blessing
to
the
program
—
did
nothing
to
restore
judicial
process
or
ensure
that
Americans’
rights
are
preserved.
Congress
needs
to
pass
a
measure,
like
one
proposed
by
Senator
Dianne
Feinstein,
to
force
Mr.
Bush
to
obey
the
law
that
requires
warrants
for
electronic
surveillance.
Ban
Torture
It
is
largely
up
to
the
president
to
decide
what
constitutes
torture
and
abuse
for
the
purpose
of
prosecuting
anyone
who
breaks
the
rules.
This
amounts
to
rewriting
the
Geneva
Conventions
and
puts
every
American
soldier
at
far
greater
risk
if
captured.
It
allows
the
president
to
decide
in
secret
what
kinds
of
treatment
he
will
permit
at
the
Central
Intelligence
Agency’s
prisons.
The
law
absolves
American
intelligence
agents
and
their
bosses
of
any
acts
of
torture
and
abuse
they
have
already
committed.
Alberto Gonzales Attempts to Manipulate the Outcome of the 2006
Congressional Elections
The last straw was the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys, one of who is
Hispanic, to manipulate the outcome of the 2006 congressional elections. No
graver assault on the U.S. Constitution can take place enabling a democracy to
evolve into a dictatorship by stuffing ballot boxes to win elections.
The stakes in the 2006 elections were at the highest level determining the
direction of the United States. Had Attorney General Gonzales been successful in
directing the U.S. Attorneys prosecute the Democrats in eight states
manipulating election outcomes, the congress may still be in the hands of
Republicans enabling the Bush Administration to "stay the course" in Iraq and
further diminish the civil rights of all Americans.
Hispanic News, the
Blue Dogs of the Democratic Party and Americause call for the resignation of
Alberto Gonzales
Gonzales tried to manipulate the outcome of the
2006 congressional elections to enable the continuation of the Republican
majority in the Congress to support the further demise by George Bush of the
well being of the United States leading to continuation of the Iraq war and
plundering the financial resources of the United States to finance Bush and
Cheney's pursuit
of the arrogance of power so adeptly exemplified in the Libby trial.
Bush and Cheney are
the true axis of evil and Gonzales, Karl Rove and Libby did their bidding.
Gonzales is
particularly singled out and will go down in history as "ballot box stuffer
Gonzales," the attorney General who used the Justice Department to justify
plundering the civil rights of Americans and attempting to manipulate the
outcome of congressional elections.
