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Reno vs. Gonzales -- Who was worse as AG

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by dbermanmd, Sep 4, 2007.

  1. dbermanmd

    dbermanmd New Member

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    From my perspective - not even close - Janet Reno is the winner here by a an overwhelming majority. Do you think the Clintons would choose someone like her again if they do win the WH in '08?
     
  2. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Thought you'd left us Doc...
    I wasn't much of an Ashcroft fan myself...while Gonzales and Reno were better lawyers than they were politicians and therefore made a lot of mistakes that made them easy targets Ashcroft was a man with an agenda of his own...the Christianizing of America...unabashedly he would have ripped the constitution to shreds given the power to do so.
    Gonzales vs Reno...I do not know, I think Reno had more positive things that occured during her tenure, but she also had more negative ones. Gonzales just wasn't around enough and found himself fighting off his back the entire time.
     
  3. mojo

    mojo Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Sep 4 2007, 03:17 PM) [snapback]506907[/snapback]</div>
    Before 9/11 occured ,Ashcroft was directing the FBI to investigate brothels in almost every state.He was doing this under the guise of hunting sex slavery ,otherwise he would have no jurisdiction.
    Thats ok I guess ,except he totally ignored any terrorism threat and wanted to cut the budget for anti-terrorism.
    He used manpower that could have (and should have)been used to investigate AlQueda in flight schools.
     
  4. dbermanmd

    dbermanmd New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 4 2007, 04:31 PM) [snapback]506914[/snapback]</div>
    You guys mean too much for me to leave without saying goodbye :D

    Spent the last moments of summer moving one kid into college and another into law school - very depressed about having half my kids leave the nest in less than one week - one probably on a more permanent basis :(

    Back to the post - I was taken by the amount of flak Gonzales had hurled his way after announcing his resignation, while remembering all the Reno missteps... including....

    1. the deaths of 80 American citizens in Waco
    2. her total mishandling of the Yankel Rosenbaum case (a very big deal here in Gotham)
    3. the Richard Jewel debacle
    4. that little kid who she allowed deported to Cuba
    5. and that little fact that she fired 93 US attorney's

    just to name a few on the top of my mind. I dont think Gonzales's record of miscues comes close to Reno's.

    Hope you summer was filled with fun and good wine.

    Take care

    David
     
  5. KingSuper20

    KingSuper20 New Member

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    No question, Reno was far more competent and qualified for the job. The fact that Clinton would have someone like Reno around, who he frequently disagreed with (as opposed to the "yes-men bush favors) speaks volumes about the charactor of the Clinton Administration as a whole. The unqualified cronies bush has filled his administration with is but one thing that makes me want to upchuck ...

    As far as Waco goes, that was a disaster that was going to happen no matter what. You seem to be forgetting that those crazies literally blew themselves up, after killing an FBI Agent. Can you imagine how bushco. would have handled it? Except they probably wouldn't have found the compound ...

    and as far as the firing of the 96 attorneys - EVERY President does that, just not in the middle of their term, and not for partisan reasons.

    Gonzo was in WAY over his head with this one, and it showed ... "I don't recall ..."
     
  6. Alric

    Alric New Member

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    As far as I can recall Janet Reno did not advocate torture or domestic spying.
     
  7. Wildkow

    Wildkow New Member

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    Did you know Richard Jewel died last week due to heart problems I believe. :(

    Wildkow
     
  8. mojo

    mojo Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Sep 5 2007, 06:18 AM) [snapback]507230[/snapback]</div>
    I can see why you are so depressed.
    Your kids are too smart and too wealthy to go to Iraq and sacrifice their lives for our country.Instead they are selfishly pursuing careers.
    You must really feel like a total failure.
    At least you have a few more kids who might stand up and do the right thing.Maybe they will be on the front lines in Iran ?What a glorious way to die or be permanently disabled.
    Sorry to be so blunt, but you do dish it out.

    (Im beginning to see Charles Rangel's point ,draft the rich kids and you wont have meaningless wars.)
    David,
    Are your kids America haters?
     
  9. fshagan

    fshagan Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 4 2007, 01:31 PM) [snapback]506914[/snapback]</div>
    I've often wondered about this view of Ashcroft. He didn't make Missouri a theocracy during his tenure over two terms, did he? I don't think he is a Christian Reconstructionist at all ( and they are the ones ... all 200 of them ... who believe a state could become a Christian theocracy under the Constitution).

    Didn't he refuse to do something that Gonzales et. al. wanted him to approve (the famous late night visit to his hospital room)?

    As to the original question, today we will color our perceptions by our party affiliations. But I think history will be a more critical judge of Gonzales, since he lost favor with both left and right, and morale in the Justice Department dropped quite a bit. Reno will get a pass on her policy faux pas because she was chosen not because she was "the best", but because she was the "third best" woman, and because morale in the Dept. of Justice remained normal. And she will not be blamed for Waco or any fallout from the Elian Gonzales cases, because while she took the fall for those operations, she was obviously following orders from one of the morons above her.
     
  10. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fshagan @ Sep 8 2007, 12:28 PM) [snapback]509118[/snapback]</div>
    I didn't say he was dumb. Those who wish to make great changes don't do so on a smaller scale and show their cards. You play the game until you're at the point of maximal power where you can exert the greatest influence. All the better if you've got a puppet in the White House who's also a devout Christian and will support you.