Is this our last chance to nail Karl Rove?

"If Congress adjourns at the end of September and nothing's been done, all of our effort goes down the drain."

-- former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman

by Ken

Yes, yes, there are other things on the minds of official Washington at the moment. Not surprisingly, the crisis of the moment will also be used to advanatage to divert attention from other business that Congress needs to deal with before adjourning Friday.

Now this is embarrassing. But sometimes you just get so carried away with . . . well, with the outrage of it all that you forget what set you off in the first place. So it was with my rant Saturday about the disastrous consequences of letting the Bush regimistas off scot-free. Oh, I meant everything I said, and I don't backtrack on my conviction about its importance, but I forgot why I was raging in the first place, and unfortunately I've wasted another couple of days, at a time when time is crucial.

This week may be our last week to nail the regime's number-two scumbag, Karl Rove. (Do you have to ask who number one is? Where Dick Cheney lurks, can even the scurviest malefactor aspire to better than top-runner-up status in any scumbag sweepstakes?) With Congress winding down, his most visible victim, former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, has been making a final push to get the bums to show a modicum of gumption and vote a contempt citation to force the sleazebag to testify before Congress.

Here is Governor Siegelman's message at www.ContemptForRove.com:

Urge Congress to Find Rove in Contempt

In July, the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Karl Rove, demanding his testimony about his own role in the politicization of the Department of Justice and politically motivated prosecutions of Democratic leaders, including me. Karl Rove refused to even show up for the hearing, claiming that Congress has no power to compel senior White House officials to testify. That's outrageous.

Now that a U.S. District Judge has ruled that White House aides like Rove can't claim immunity in order to refuse to testify before Congress, there's no room for Karl Rove to hide any longer -- but our time is running out. If Congress adjourns at the end of September and nothing's been done, all of our effort goes down the drain. So now we must pull out the stops and turn up the heat.

Please urge the full House to vote Karl Rove in contempt, forcing him to show up and testify!

Don Siegelman

Onsite you can send an e-mail to your congressmember, with a basic message provided which you're encouraged to edit as you wish:

Subject: Vote to Hold Karl Rove in Contempt

Dear Member of Congress,

I urge you to work with your House colleagues and vote to hold Karl Rove in contempt of Congress quickly, before the House adjourns at the end of September.

Karl Rove has thumbed his nose in the face of Congress, refusing to heed a Congressional subpoena and appear before the House Judiciary Committee to testify about his role in launching politically motivated prosecutions -- including the malicious, unfounded prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman -- and politicizing the Department of Justice.

Recently, the House Judiciary Committee voted to cite Rove for contempt after he refused to honor a subpoena and testify. Then, just one day later, a U.S. District Judge ruled that senior White House aides could not claim blanket immunity in order to refuse to testify before Congress.

The message is clear: There's no room for Karl Rove to hide any longer. It is time for him to come clean and tell the truth about what he has done. If Karl Rove really has nothing to hide, then he should show up, testify, and prove it to Congress and the country.

With Congress slated to adjourn at the end of September, it's time for the House to act. I urge you to vote to hold Karl Rove in contempt of Congress now -- and to encourage your colleagues to do the same.

My lollygagging notwithstanding, time really is of the essence. A phone call to your representative wouldn't be out of place.

#