Specter says he will back AG nominee

[babylonsister]

Specter says he will back AG nominee

By HOPE YEN
Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) -- The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Sunday he is bothered by Michael Mukasey's refusal to say whether waterboarding is torture but will support his nomination for attorney general anyway.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., joins two key Senate Democrats in saying he will back Mukasey because the retired judge has said that if Congress passes a law banning waterboarding, "the president would have absolutely no legal authority to ignore such a law."

"He could have said a lot of things which would have given me more assurances," Specter said. "But he is intelligent; he's really learned in the law. He's strong, ethical, honest beyond any question. He's not an intimate of the president."

"And you have to balance it off with where we are today," said Specter, R-Pa. "The Department of Justice is dysfunctional. It is not performing. And every day that passes, we do not have someone in charge of the investigation against terrorism, the fight against violent crime."

The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on Mukasey's nomination Tuesday.

more...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SENATE_MUKASEY?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[Bluebear]

1. Oh, quelle surprise! nt

[MADem]

12. Bwahahahahahaha!!!!

It's not really "funny" but that subject line sure was!! Especially in the context of ole Magic Bullet himself!

[Solly Mack]

2. "...ethical, honest ..."

Exactly what dictionary is he using?

[TwilightGardener]

3. Why wouldn't he? Is he supposed to run to the left of Chucky and Dianne, the Wonder Twins?

[babylonsister]

4. I'm not surprised, just sharing info. nt

[TwilightGardener]

6. Venting at the Wonder Twins, not at the messenger...

:)

[Vincardog]

5. if Congress passes a law banning water boarding, "the president would have absolutely no legal

authority to ignore such a law." ????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
????????????/????????????????????????????????????????????????????
The Geneva Convention is US law. It bans all torture and includes Water Boarding.
The law is already passed. Jr. AKA DimSon has ignored it and continues to ignore it.
WTF does this say about our mis-Representatives?

[Disturbed]

7. Spector would vote for Pol Pot if Busholini told him to do so.

He talks about justice, blah, blah then always votes for what the The War Criminal demands.

[spanone]

8. of course he will. along with every loyal republican and two despicable democrats

[cali]

10. sickeningly, there will be several more dems joining chuck and diane

Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, Johnson, maybe Bayh and Salazar. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see 7 or 8 dems vote to confirm.

[AuntPatsy]

11. I'm curious Cali, earlier last week I think you seemed to think we had no choice

with this newest Bush AG, but you now seem to have changed your mind? I'm not sure I am reading you right but if I am and you did change your mind that the lesser of two evils is not going to be okay than what changed it?

[cali]

15. yes. before he testified to the committee. Once he waffled

on torture and just as bad, suggested that there were times the president could flout the law, I changed my position. Not because I thought that Keisler was a better option, or a recess appt, but because the idea that the U.S. Senate would endorse torture, in any way, is abhorrent to me. I changed my mind, I suppose, in much the same way that Senator Leahy or Senator Feingold, both of whom were predisposed to vote for him, prior to Mukasey's disturbing testimony.

I trust you have no problem following my logic here.

[AuntPatsy]

16. None, no problem at all following such logic and I hope that some read this and now see

what I have for quite some time.

I hope they realize now your just searching for the truth as we all are and sometimes emotional outbursts with little facts and strange outbursts of false ideologies only do as much harm as those that we are now fighting against.

Put it this way, I would not take you on without at least having something to back me up so that I didn't look stupid if I differed from your position and you shouldn't find that a bad thing nor should anyone else.

I know you get frustrated as many of us do and so those that seem to have a beef with you shouldn't take it so personal especially if they keep making the same mistakes, once is okay, twice can even be overlooked considering today's heavy load of outrages hitting us daily from this whitehouse, but more than that which some tend to do, well than you can't blame anyone else but yourself when other Du'rs lose patience.

We need people that are tough and can, as you now have proven change your opinion when faced with certain other facts always a good sign of good character and worthy of respect.

[MADem]

13. It will be interesting to see who DOES vote AYE, and who doesn't vote at all.

This will be a hard one to duck, even if the votes aren't there. It's an important vote for the symbolism, if nothing else.

I'd wager that the Dems voting AYE will either be not running again, or aren't up for reelection in 08 and are hoping that time will heal all wounds by the time they come up for reelection.

There are 22 GOP incumbent seats up for grabs this time around. It will be interesting to see how those incumbents vote...

[ladjf]

9. Big surprise!

[Cha]

14. Oh, has he seen this map?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2200114