Health care is a struggle. I get it. But getting rid of Karl Rove's DOJ hit squad? C'mon!
Don Siegelman-the most high-profile victim of Rove's skullduggery-has launched a campaign to do just that. Of course, it goes without saying that there shouldn't have to be such a campaign. It's ludicrous that Obama didn't fire the whole lot of GOP political appointees in the DOJ on day one. But he didn't. So now it falls to us to pressure him to do the right thing.
Earlier this month, I was fortunate to join many friends from here and all around the country at Netroots Nation and discuss some of the victories we have achieved together.
Specifically, I mentioned the success we had seen in urging the House Committee on the Judiciary to force Karl Rove to testify and admit his role in the firing of U.S. Attorneys while issuing "non-denial-denials" about his role in my prosecution.
That's something we never could have achieved without the support of the netroots and the Daily Kos community. I can't thank you enough for your steadfast support. But, this fight is not over; not for me, not for Karl Rove, and not for our democracy.
That's why, at my Netroots Nation panel, I launched a new campaign, www.FireRovesProsecutors.com, dedicated to seeing those Rove-vetted U.S. Attorneys and appointees still poisoning the Department of Justice removed from their positions - ending their ability to threaten our democracy.
When he wrote the diary, over 5,000 people had already sent email messages to the White House demanding the removal of Rove's prosecutors. We need to do our bit to raise those numbers.
This issue is anything but dead. The people who did the dirty work are still on the job right now because only a handful of the appointees have been replaced: just five of the 93 Bush put in place. That means Rove's clones are still calling the shots! They are a cancer on our system of justice and must be removed before our democracy can be healed.
This is not simply a matter of partisan politics. US Attorneys are routinely replaced by new Administrations as a matter of course for reasons of policy as well as rewarding combinations of party loyalty and professional excellence, so some partisanship is hardly anything to worry about.
The failure to routinely replace Bush's attorneys is something to worry about precisely because of this. The vast majority of them represent Republican policies and priorities, if not outright partisanship. But the situation is actually much worse than that, as Siegelman's case so vividly illustrates. And that's why even some prominent Republicans have stepped up to support him against his wrongful conviction.
Dana Jill Simpson Life long Alabama Republican, ex-campaign worker for Bob Rileyand modern-day Joan of Arc - a rare true believer in truth, justice and the "American way."
Jill Simpson - a Rainsville attorney, and lifelong Republican who worked for Gov. Bob Riley's first gubernatorial campaign, then later for the Roy Moore Campaign - filed an affidavit in Georgia, 2007, describing a conversation that took place during a telephone conference call days after Riley defeated Siegelman in the 2002 election. The content of the call implicates the White House involvement in the Siegelman prosecution. Participating in the call were Simpson; Rob Riley, the governor's son; Terry Butts, an attorney for Riley; and Bill Canary, chairman of the Business Council of Alabama. She claimed that she filed the affidavit "because I believe everyone has a Sixth Amendment right to have an attorney who does not have a conflict."
Her courageous act was made even more meaningful when it was disclosed that while she was discussing her decision to come forward with her disclosure, her house was burned to the ground and her car run off the road and totaled. Recently, Eddie Curran, triggered by her interview on CBS News "60 Minutes", has begun to target her credibility.
Later (Feb. 2008) she gave an interview to CBS "60 Minutes" about her life as an investigative operative for the GOP....
Second is former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods:
Grant Woods (R) Former Attorney General of Arizona and co-chair of the McCain for President Leadership Committee
Before CBS News Show "60 Minutes" was broadcast Mike Hubbard and the Alabama G.O.P. issued a statement which characterized the CBS broadcast as an 'anti-Republican attack piece'. Remarkably, two of CBS "60 Minutes" star witnesses were Republican. And not just any Republican...Grant Woods is co-chair of the McCain for President leadership committee, and a lifelong friend and advisor to the presumptive 2008 G.O.P. Presidential candidate. Woods is also godfather to one of the McCain children.
Approaching the House Judiciary committee with over 50 other former Attorney's General, Woods signed a petition asking for an investigation of some irregular prosecutions, including the prosecution of Governor Siegelman in Alabama. On the "60 Minutes" piece, Woods was asked whether his party loyalty was compromised by supporting a Democrat. The high-point of the show was his reply: he was an American first.
