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Dean: Indict Cheney
National Democrat Chairman Howard Dean called on Special Prosecutor Patrick
Fitzgerald to indict Dick Cheney.
Dean cited that one of the points established by Fitzgerald's investigation
is that Vice President Cheney was the source of his assistant 'Scooter'
Libby's knowledge about who the CIA agent was. This, Dean claims, is enough
to link Cheney as the source of who told Libby to out Valerie Plame as a CIA
agent.
Dean said, "And the question is, did the vice president instruct 'Scooter'
Libby to reveal that name?"
"If he did," Dean said, "the vice president is probably criminally negligent
and he ought to be indicted as well."
2008 Hopefuls Update
Pataki
NY Governor George Pataki records show that in the three-month period that
ended Sept. 30, his PAC took in $277,250. In the first quarter of the year,
the PAC took in $630,475, while the second-quarter haul was $444,075. Just
$56,000 of the third-quarter take came in after his July 27 announcement.
Bayh
Sen. Evan Bayh (IN-D) in a recent visit to New Hampshire turned up the heat
against President Bush according to the
Manchester Union Leader:
"It’s been on their watch that North Korea has become a virtual assembly
line for nuclear weapons ... It’s been on their watch that our military has
been stretched to the breaking point," the two-term senator said at the
Jefferson-Jackson dinner, broadcast live on C-SPAN. "And it’s been on their
watch that the conflict in Iraq has been terribly, terribly mismanaged."
Bayh, who’s pondering a 2008 White House run and has nearly $8 million in
his Senate war chest that could be shifted to a Presidential race, made his
second appearance this year in the first Presidential primary state.
"The more the merrier," said Manchester Mayor Bob Baines, who will go
campaigning door-to-door with Bayh this afternoon in Ward 2.
Romney
Cedar Rapids Mayor Paul Pate (former Rep. Sec. of State) said that he favors
Massachusetts Mitt Romney at this point. Maybe it is because Romney has the
same performance and achievement measurements as the Mayor.
"'I look at what's happening in Washington and I'm sure in the realm of wish
fulfillment and dreams, the Democrats are hoping that a couple of irritating
bug bites that we've gotten over the past few days in Washington are going
to cause us to turn around and run in the other direction,' Romney said."
Romney also offered the following regarding the indictment of Scooter Libby
while in Iowa:
"I really don't think that voters ascribe to an entire party the mistake,
even the serious mistake, of one party member," said Romney, making stops in
Davenport and Waukee on his one-day Iowa jaunt. "People don't believe in
guilt by association."
DSM Register ends Harkin pass
After weeks of published reports that Sen. Tom Harkin broke ethics laws by
not reimbursing Jack Abromoff’s for the use of his skybox at the Washington
D.C. MCI Center, the Des Moines Register finally made mention of the scandal
in Jane Norman’s column:
The skyboxes and their use by members of Congress have come under scrutiny
in recent months. Allison Dobson, Harkin's spokeswoman, said Harkin aides,
in an "abundance of caution," took a look back at their own records and
discovered they had not properly accounted for Harkin's use of them.
The skyboxes — very nice places for a small group of deep-pocketed
contributors to watch a basketball game or other event — were offered for
the Harkin campaign's use by other members of Abramoff's law firm, she said.
Abramoff "had nothing to do with this event," said Dobson. The campaign
mistakenly thought that the rental cost of the skyboxes did not have to be
reimbursed under campaign finance rules, she said.
As it turned out, a client of Abramoff's, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw
Indians, was paying for the skybox, so Harkin reimbursed the tribe $1,800
for the 2002 event and $1,900 for the 2003 event, said Dobson.
Gallup poll: military tops in public confidence
The American Forces Press Service reports that the American public has more
confidence in the military than in any other institution, according to a
Gallup poll [LINK]:
Seventy-four percent of those surveyed in Gallup's 2005 confidence poll said
they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in the military -
more than in a full range of other government, religious, economic, medical,
business and news organizations.
This year's 74 percent confidence level exceeded that of all 15 institutions
included in the 2005 survey.
Police ranked second, with 63 percent of responders expressing "a great
deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in them.
Organized religion rated third, with 53 percent of responders expressing
high confidence, and banks rated a 49 percent high-confidence rate.
The Gallup organization noted that public trust in television news and
newspapers reached an all-time low this year, with 28 percent of responders
expressing high confidence in them.
Supreme Court nomination: Bush and Alito
transcript
Good morning. I'm pleased to announce my nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito,
Jr., as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge
Alito is one of the most accomplished and respected judges in America, and
his long career in public service has given him an extraordinary breadth of
experience.
As a Justice Department official, federal prosecutor and judge on the United
States Court of Appeals, Sam Alito has shown a mastery of the law, a deep
commitment of justice, and a -- and he is a man of enormous character. He's
scholarly, fair-minded and principled, and these qualities will serve our
nation well on the highest court of the land.
Judge Alito showed great promise from the beginning in studies at Princeton
and Yale Law School; as editor of the Yale Law Journal; as a clerk for a
federal court of appeals judge. He served in the Army Reserves and was
honorably discharged as a captain. Early in his career, Sam Alito worked as
a federal prosecutor and handled criminal and civil matters for the United
States. As assistant to the solicitor general, he argued 12 cases before the
Supreme Court, and has argued dozens of others before the federal courts of
appeals.
He served in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel providing
constitutional advice for the President and the executive branch. In 1987,
President Ronald Reagan named him the United States Attorney for the
District of New Jersey, the top prosecutor in one of the nation's largest
federal districts, and he was confirmed by unanimous consent by the Senate.
He moved aggressively against white-collar and environmental crimes, and
drug trafficking, and organized crime, and violation of civil rights.
In his role, Sam Alito showed a passionate commitment to the rule of law,
and he gained a reputation for being both tough and fair. In 1990, President
Bush nominated Sam Alito, at the age of 39, for the United States Court of
Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. Judge Alito's nomination received bipartisan
support and he was again confirmed by unanimous consent by the United States
Senate. Judge Alito has served with distinction on that court for 15 years
and now has more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in
more than 70 years.
Judge Alito's reputation has only grown over the span of his service. He has
participated in thousands of appeals and authored hundreds of opinions. This
record reveals a thoughtful judge who considers the legal matter -- marriage
carefully and applies the law in a principled fashion. He has a deep
understanding of the proper role of judges in our society. He understands
that judges are to interpret the laws, not to impose their preferences or
priorities on the people.
In the performance of his duties, Judge Alito has gained the respect of his
colleagues and attorneys for his brilliance and decency. He's won admirers
across the political spectrum. I'm confident that the United States Senate
will be impressed by Judge Alito's distinguished record, his measured
judicial temperament, and his tremendous personal integrity. And I urge the
Senate to act promptly on this important nomination so that an up or down
vote is held before the end of this year.
Today, Judge Alito is joined by his wife, Martha, who was a law librarian
when he first met her. Sam and I both know you can't go wrong marrying a
librarian. Sam and Martha's two children, Phil and Laura, are also with us,
and I know how proud you are of your dad today. I'm sure, as well, that
Judge Alito is thinking of his mom, Rose, who will be 91 in December. And I
know he's thinking about his late father. Samuel Alito, Sr., came to this
country as an immigrant child from Italy in 1914, and his fine family has
realized the great promise of our country.
Judge, thanks for agreeing to serve, and congratulations on your nomination.
JUDGE ALITO: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you very much, Mr. President. I
am deeply honored to be nominated to serve on the Supreme Court, and I am
very grateful for the confidence that you have shown in me.
The Supreme Court is an institution that I have long held in reverence.
During my 29 years as a public servant, I've had the opportunity to view the
Supreme Court from a variety of perspectives -- as an attorney in the
Solicitor General's Office, arguing and briefing cases before the Supreme
Court, as a federal prosecutor, and most recently for the last 15 years as a
judge of the Court of Appeals. During all of that time, my appreciation of
the vital role that the Supreme Court plays in our constitutional system has
greatly deepened.
I argued my first case before the Supreme Court in 1982, and I still vividly
recall that day. I remember the sense of awe that I felt when I stepped up
to the lectern. And I also remember the relief that I felt when Justice
O'Connor -- sensing, I think, that I was a rookie -- made sure that the
first question that I was asked was a kind one. I was grateful to her on
that happy occasion, and I am particularly honored to be nominated for her
seat.
My most recent visit to the Supreme Court building was on a very different
and a very sad occasion: It was on the occasion of the funeral of Chief
Justice William Rehnquist. And as I approached the Supreme Court building
with a group of other federal judges, I was struck by the same sense of awe
that I had felt back in 1982, not because of the imposing and beautiful
building in which the Supreme Court is housed, but because of what the
building, and, more importantly, the institutions stand for -- our
dedication as a free and open society to liberty and opportunity, and, as it
says above the entrance to the Supreme Court, "equal justice under law."
Every time that I have entered the courtroom during the past 15 years, I
have been mindful of the solemn responsibility that goes with service as a
federal judge. Federal judges have the duty to interpret the Constitution
and the laws faithfully and fairly, to protect the constitutional rights of
all Americans, and to do these things with care and with restraint, always
keeping in mind the limited role that the courts play in our constitutional
system. And I pledge that if confirmed I will do everything within my power
to fulfill that responsibility.
I owe a great deal to many people who have taught me over the years about
the law and about judging, to judges before whom I have appeared, and to
colleagues who have shown me with their examples what it means to be a fair
and conscientious and temperate judge.
I also owe a great deal, of course, to the members of my family. I wish that
my father had lived to see this day. He was an extraordinary man who came to
the United States as a young child, and overcame many difficulties and made
many sacrifices so that my sister and I would have opportunities that he did
not enjoy.
As the President mentioned, my mother will be celebrating her 91st birthday
next month. She was a pioneering and very dedicated public school teacher
who inspired my sister and me with a love of learning. My wife, Martha, has
been a constant source of love and support for the past 20 years. My
children, Philip and Laura, are the pride of my life and they have made sure
that being a judge has never gone to my head -- they do that very well on a,
pretty much, daily basis. And my sister, Rosemary, has always been a great
friend and an inspiration as a great lawyer, and as a strong and independent
person.
I look forward to working with the Senate in the confirmation process. Mr.
President, thank you, once again, for the confidence that you've shown in me
and for honoring me with this nomination.
Chris Matthews: Democrats' disgusting Alito doc
Chris Matthews of MSNBC reported on Monday that he had obtained a 'pretty
disgusting document' pertaining to new Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito.
Here is a transcript of Matthews' comments: [LINK]
Matthews: "[I]'m sitting here holding in my hands, a pretty
disgusting document, this is put out not for attribution. But it comes from
the Democrats, they're circulating it. I can say that."
Matthews: "[T]hen their complaint sheet against Judge Alito's
nomination. The first thing they nail About this Italian American Is He
Failed to Win A Mob Conviction In A trial 20 Years Ago, Or Something Way
Back In '88."
Matthews: "In other words, they nail him on not putting some Italian
mobsters in jail from the [Lucchese] Family. Why would they
bring up this ethnically charged issue as the first item they raise against
Judge Alito?"
Matthews: "This is either a very bad coincidence or very bad
politics. Either way its gonna hurt them. This document: not abortion
rights, not civil rights but that he failed to nail some mobsters In 1988.
This is the top of their list of what they've got against this guy.
Amazingly bad politics."
Matthews: "[The Democrats Are] trying not to put a signature on it,
but I just did."
(MSNBC's "MSNBC Live," 10/31/05)
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