McCain’s Poor Sense of Timing
I pointed out several weeks ago that Vern Ehlers’ (R-Margaret Chiara’s former district) call for Alberto Gonzales to resign probably had more to do with protecting his cronies in Grand Rapids than it had with any outrage over Gonzales’ actions. Get rid of Gonzales and prevent the good citizens of MI from learning what Republican scandal she had discovered, you know. But at least Ehlers had the good grace to make the call well before revelations came out about his associates’ presumed involvement in the crimes Chiara was investigating.
McCain, on the other hand, seems to have lost not only his mojo, but his sense of timing.
How else to explain McCain’s call for Gonzales to resign yesterday, the day after it was revealed that Rick Renzi’s top aide had called USA Charlton’s spokesperson to inquire about the probe targetting the Congressman, and the same day that the WSJ had an even more detailed report on the delays in the investigation of Renzi.
And while we’re discussing McCain, can anyone explain something to me? In all of Kyle Sampson’s plans for firing USAs, in all the lists where he details who will call which Republican Senators to alert them that their USA was about to be fired, he doesn’t mention McCain once. Not once. In NM, the one Republican Senator was informed; ditto NV. In WA, CA, and MI, there are no Republican Senators to contend with. But in AZ, the only state with two Republican Senators that lost its USA, the WH felt obliged to officially inform only one.
If I were really gullible, I’d simply believe that the WH called Kyl–and blew off the senior Senator from AZ–because Kyl sits on the judiciary. I’d be willing to believe that the WH figured they didn’t owe McCain the courtesy of a warning, at all, that they were firing his state’s USA. If I were really gullible, I’d believe that. But I’m not.
Don’t you think all the Presidential campaign reporters ought to be getting a really clear sense from McCain of when and how he was informed that the WH was going to figure his USA?
Hmm. I’d actually thought the WH/DOJ made an announcement about the replacement after Kyl and McCain had nominated Diane Humetawa, but without calling either Kyl or McCain. Will have go back through my notes.
It was perceived as a slap in the face by both that their opinions were pointedly disregarded…rather the same reaction that Gerald Parsky had about Ryan’s seat in CA. Perhaps they got to Kyl because they didn’t want another Parsky episode?
Or was it about Interior Dept and BIA…?
Rayne
You’re thinking of January? Could be–they really pissed off Domenici, I think, by ignoring his 4 choices in favor of theirs.
But I’m thinking particularly of December 7. Why is it that they didn’t feel McCain needed a warning, as they did with all the other political leads and Senators? Did he already know, or they just didn’t think he’d care. (There’s a bit of a similar focus on Pryor in AR, btw, but that’s not that surprising…)
glad I got here before the spelling police grabbed you (I heard they got a new battery charger)
check the title for typos, wheel
repeat after me â€Preview is my friend, Preview is my friendâ€
on topic, can I use the words â€Battered Wife Syndrome†to describe john mccain ???
george bush has done nothing but piss on mccain
but mccain stands by his man
anybody else noticed that
or is that a little too politically incorrect ???
EW 15:10 — I was thinking of January, not December…but that means they didn’t call McCain TWICE, not just in advance.
Wonder what they intended to tell Kyl in December, if they told him to come up with names for nominees. And surely McCain must have been okay with however this was handled, since both Kyl and McCain submitted the same and only nominee, Diane Humetawa.
Need more breadcrumbs.
Here’s my speculation: for all of McCain’s many flaws, he was the lead GOPper on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Those looking for a Grand Unifying Theory of Corruption get the sense that there’s some linkup to the various screwings-over of Native Americans, from Cobell to CREA/Abramoff to the bogus SD voter fraud accusations.
That’s to say, perhaps McCain was considered not sufficiently loyal on this particular issue to be considered the lead on this.
I’m wondering if the WH has a medical report (or something) on McCain that says they don’t have to worry about what he does, because he won’t be around when the bill comes due.
But he does, as freepatriot says, stick to the WH line on so much, even when it makes no sense (the torture bill, frex).
It is interesting that DoJ did not accept the Diane Humetewa recommendation from McCain and Kyl. It makes you wonder who they had in mind.
Scott Bloch of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (he of the “wide-ranging†WH/Rove/e-mail/Hatch Act investigation) will be the guest in the 8:00 AM EDT hour Friday of C-SPAN’s Washington Journal.
EW FYI from the lake h/t to pow wow
Senate Indian Affairs Committee as mentioned above- McCain allowed some Abramoff info out, but not much. Many of the corruption investigations have been related to Abramoff, and Marcy has documented the connection of fired USAs to various Indian affairs, I forget the USA subgroup. Rather than McCain being on the outs, more likely on the ins, and a major contributor to who got fired. Of course Bushie wouldn’t care about stiffing him on a replacement- is McCain gonna tell about his role?
Sometimes what’s missing from a particular narrative is more significant than what’s been included. Good catch.
As absolutely, totally lame as Kyl is, he is far more involved in the day to day dealings and concerns of Arizona than is McCain. Our beautiful state has been nothing but a money source (see: Keating, Charlie) and photo op stage prop for McCain in his never ending self glorification for a very long time. My guess is that the White House/DOJ didn’t really give a tinker’s damn about the Arizona locals in relation to their purge plan. They knew (quite correctly I might also add) that McCain was to self absorbed to care; and contacted Kyl to make sure that he was on board and didn’t make to big of a fuss in light of the fact that he is on Judiciary and was Paul Charlton’s backer to start with. As is ALWAYS the case, Kyl was a loyal foot soldier; making a couple of obligatory â€concern†statements locally and having a personal sit down with Charlton to keep him in line, and then dropping the subject. Both Kyl and McCain are lont time embarrasments to my state.
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