I bet Gonzo's job is secure for now -- and here's why.

[pnwmom]

Bush already has the problem that while he may be able to order his aides not to respond to the subpoenas -- which could delay the process for months if not years -- at least one of them doesn't work for him anymore -- Harriett Miers. He can't order an ex-employee not to testify.

If Gonzo resigns, then he also becomes an ex-employee.

That's the last thing Bush needs right now -- another former employee free to be subpoenaed by Congress.

[Duer 157099]

1. I don't think Fredo can refuse to testify

He will testify no matter what, I believe

[thereismore]

2. Fredo testified a number of times already. He has to testify. He just lies,

we know that much. It's the other people that can nail him in his lies. I think Fredo would do well for himself and resign. Or else he will go down as a perjurer.

[rusty_parts2001]

3. Gonzo and Rove will be protected till the bitter end.

Bush will be impeached before he gives up either. Not loyalty, just typical Bush SOP self interest.

[fooj]

5. Nothing will ever split the "lovers" triangle.

That pic looks like they have a serious case of "crushitis"!!!

[underpants]

4. They will keep him around simply for the audacity of it

They can't go any lower in the polls (yes they do care) and they have achieved everything they've wanted to (empty the treasury, raid the public trusts, invade Iraq) so at this point Bush is just acting like a pompous ass which is a selling point to the follower of the Dear Leader.

[jody]

6. When Thomas White was mired in his Army Sec scandal, * congratulated him for being a lightning rod

to deflect attention from the Oval Office. Can't find a link but *'s statement stuck.

Gonzo is the perfect lighting rod to keep congress and the media distracted from investigating more important * evil deeds.

[HereSince1628]

7. His job is secure _because_ the media suggested it wasn't

Bush says HE is the decider, and HE means it!

*'ll keep on Gonadzless just because he REFUSES to do what a newspaper leak says he's doing. He hates the media. He hates leaks (well, being an addicted gambler/entrepreneurial disaster he at least hates the ones that reveal his hand). Ergo Gonadzless is safe because it lets "the Wit As Vast and Empty as the Permian Basin" say "I believe Yoo fucked you."

[SteveM]

8. Good point. But steely attitude always underwrites actions.

Not breaking. Not even bending. It's the attitude that has served GWB (and the entire GOP) well. It is foreign to modern Democrats: digging in hard, looking you in the eye, and saying "make me." Usually, today's liberal Democrats back down. The Dems' attitude is a mix of both disdain for "traditional" leadership qualities (too sexist, not consensus enough, etc.) in favor of a new kind of muddling through, and a big dose of not knowing what you stand for and how to explain it.

The GOP has clearly become extremist and authoritarian and it may cost them in upcoming elections; but they know what they stand for and explain such in a concrete and concise manner with great clarity and certitude. And they don't back down. Progressives should learn from this; both to avoid extremism of the GOP and to chuck the mumbling "win-win," "consensus building," "moving forward," "third way," language that leaves Americans dulled to distraction. The only way this kind of sorta/kinda approach works is when the other side dumps the slop bucket all over everyone's carpet. Then, passive-aggressiveness writ large might get you a turn in the chair. But It does not work when a party must lead. Philosophy leads to policy leads to clarity leads to power.