Bad Deeds for 3-27-07

Embattled AG Alberto Gonzales now accused in teen sex scandal ‘cover-up’ in Texas – Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, both already under siege for other matters, are now being accused of failing to prosecute officers of the Texas Youth Commission after a Texas Ranger investigation documented that guards and administrators were sexually abusing the institution’s teenage boy inmates.

States that are pivotal for the 2008 elections are the same ones having US Attorneys replaced – In April 2006, Karl Rove gave a keynote address to the National Lawyers Association, a partisan legal group. “He ticked off 11 states that he said could be pivotal in 2008. Bush has appointed new U.S. attorneys in nine of them since 2005. Three of the US Attorneys Bush has nominated since the 2004 election were, remarkably enough, from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, which has been criticized for implementing policies which unfairly disadvantage poor, often minority voters whose political tendencies historically favor Democrats.

Fired prosecutor: White House counsel asked why Republicans were angry at me

Evidence that Bush may have approved US Attorneys firings – The decision to fire the prosecutors was delayed until Bush returned from traveling. Here’s an email from then White House counsel Harriet Miers: “Not sure whether this will be determined to require the boss’s attention. If it does, he just left last night, so would not be able to accomplish for some time.” This is the time period during which there is an 18 day gap in email records released by the White House.

Republicans think differently from the rest of the country
The two graphs below show that Republicans have a different view from Democrats and Independents, who tend to have the same opinions on defense spending and their personal financial situation.