Obama Re-Nominates Dawn Johnsen For OLC
In a big "FU" to the Republican obstructionists in Congress, Barack Obama has re-submitted Dawn Johnsen to head the Office of Legal Counsel, after the GOP blocked her nomination late last year.
It should be noted that Johnsen has had glowing recommendations from both sides of the aisle for her legal acumen, but because she did work for a pro-choice group two decades ago, she was deemed "too liberal" to be acceptable for a Congressional vote:
The renomination of Johnsen-the Obama nominee who has waited the longest for a vote-is especially noteworthy. Currently a professor at Indiana University School of Law, Johnsen is extraordinarily well-qualified to head the Office of Legal Counsel. She served for more than five years in that office during the Clinton administration, including as its acting head for more than a year. She has the bipartisan support of both her home state senators and from former heads of OLC from both political parties. Senior officials from every administration since Gerald Ford's have endorsed her nomination.
"President Obama made an excellent choice in Professor Johnsen to lead OLC, and today he's shown his willingness to stand on principle and call the Republicans on their attack and delay tactics," said Marge Baker, Executive Vice President of People For the American Way. "President Obama's statement today is a refutation of the GOP's efforts to spin this eminently qualified nominee as a controversial choice, and he should be applauded. Professor Johnsen's legal scholarship, her integrity, her substantive knowledge, and her commitment to this nation's security and to the rule of law will serve this country well once she's confirmed."
To be fair, this is not strictly a GOP issue:
At least two Democrats — Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania — have also said they oppose her, and the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, did not give her a floor vote.
It's patently absurd that someone as eminently qualified as Johnsen should not get even the respect of being given a vote. John Yoo--the poster child for the phrase "the banality of evil"--has no problem with his nomination to the OLC, but Johnsen does?
In addition to Johnsen, Obama has re-submitted the nominations of five others whose original nominations were effectively killed by GOP obstructionism:
Mr. Obama will also renominate Christopher Schroeder to lead the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy and Mary Smith to lead its tax division; Craig Becker to be a National Labor Relations Board member; and Louis Butler Jr. and Edward Chen to be district court judges, the official said.
The three stooges of the Democratic Party.
You're way too kind. "Stooges" is not the word I would use.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
Sounds like a ringing endorsement.
And Senator Traitor/Whore/Magic bullet obviously still has GOP flashbacks.
I'm sure we can come up with a way to bash Obama about this?
He's too weak, he isn't creative enough, etc.
:)
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
Her nomination is a bright light, credit when credit is due.
Better that he would have done a recess appointment.
But she is against torture and the perpetrators are still in there.
They have not been investigated, they certainly have not been prosecuted.
It is the same CIA, it is the same MICC.
If you want to run with them, be my guest.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
to serve in an adminsitration which murders women and children?
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
innocent of that.
Cannot be done.
a good chance of bringing that to an end.
This one has the best chance to do that.
This shows a basic misunderstanding. The Office of Legal Counsel, for which she was nominated serves to counsel on the law. The service is of the law and not of the administration per se.
John Yoo had this exactly backwards. Which is precisely why there needs to be investigations and prosecutions.
Since there were a number of deaths relating to the incidents of torture, there is no limit on the statute.
Not investigating, and not prosecuting are liable to be criminal acts in and of themselves.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
I just saw the ad for it on comedycentral.com.
We have no shame as a country.
The corporations control everything and they are sociopaths.
We are doomed.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
The client is not the President; the client is the United States.
John Yoo was not an advocate; his job was to neutrally assess what the law is, not what he or the President wished it to be.
Corruption favors the wealthy.
We have the media to attack him for us.
He is continuing to promote and operate a legal department with dubious legality that was designed specifically to provide cover of government acts that can be considered criminal by issuing statements absolving the officials of wrong doing for following the "legal" advice of the OLC.
In doing so he is proving that he is no better than Bush and is placing the nation at risk when another criminal Republican takes over by leaving the mechanisms and levers in place that would allow for dictatorial control.
That makes him either stupid or willfully complicit in the overthrow of democracy in the US.
There, did that bash him enough?
I think it at least lays the groundwork for some serious kicking.
...me my daily dose of "our government is completely dysfunctional and fucked up". I never feel like the day is complete without it.
Well I finally got the bumper sticker to replace my Obama one (I'm Voting For That One):
http://images0.cafepress.com/product/80555150...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
is a perfect American bumper sticker these days....
This obstructing the opposite party’s appointees is something that happens with both parties. We all know that. The thing with the Republicans is they obstruct for the stupidest most idiotic retarded reasons anybody could ever come up with. With Dawn Johnsen there may be something else up because it is strange that Reid and Sphincter were in on stopping it but the Republicans obstructed the TSA guy and made the country less safe and there are a whole list of others. The Democrats seem to have much better reasons to stop appointees. They even let that bitch Gail Norton in to be the Secretary of the Interior for Bush/Cheny/Murdoch and she screwed the country over to help big oil and timber and anybody else who would massage her…. uh… pocketbook. She now works for Shell Oil or something. And it was mentioned that John Yooo(hooo) was confirmed and he was the nastiest son of a bitch in the world.
If the Democratic Senate majority leader denies a floor vote, how is this in any way "a GOP issue" or Republican obstructionism?
Corruption favors the wealthy.
You can't bring it to a floor vote if even 1 senator puts a hold.
I'm OK with the filibuster, if they make it an actual filibuster, but the senate rules have got to change this hold BS.
Just appoint her and say screw it just like GWB did. When are the democrats EVER going to get some balls and a backbone. 60 Vote majority and they can still not get anything done.
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