A Timely Betrayal

I keep reflecting back on the events of the weekend, wherein Senators Schumer and Feinstein announced that they would support the nomination of Michael Mukasey for attorney general. A couple of things bug me.

One, the announcement of their support was done at the close of the news cycle, and in such a way as to do as much damage as possible to those who wanted to stop the Mukasey nomination. It was as if they were actively working for Bush. They took Senator Pat Leahy off the front page (he had announced his opposition and hour earlier). These two senators were not having any pangs of conscience, were not doing deep meditation. This was timed. They were actively supporting Bush.

Secondly, Bush needed two votes. Not one, not three, but two. They gave him exactly what he needed. Do you suppose that if he needed three, he would have gotten three? Or that if he only needed only one, the other pro-Mukasey vote would have gone into hiding? This is politics, things are seldom what they appear. Senators are vote counters, and once a measure or nomination is assured of passage or failure, they are free to vote as they please, free to dress up the voting record. I suspect there are more pro-Bush votes in hiding in the Democratic Party – more than just blue dogs.

Finally, Bush is a lame duck, and his approval rating is in Nixon country. But he has enormous power. It doesn’t make sense. What is it that impels senators like Schumer and Feinstein (who are not up for election this cycle) to alienate their base and support him? It’s not ethics, for sure. An anti-Mukasesy vote would have sent a strong message about torture.

What is it? Why does Bush win? My suspicious self, the one that sees politics as a Machiavellian game, sees Bush with the goods on them. (Maybe he got it by means of wiretap.) A phone call, a threat – some event from way back, or in Feinstein’s case, some investment that looks shady. Pow! A vote in favor of the president.

That is how the game is played. Say, for instance, that I was to run and win a seat in the House of Representatives, that I was to beat out Denny Rehberg. A smart executive branch would want leverage over me. They would do some research, and it wouldn’t take long before that unsavory incident involving the golden lab and the clown would surface. (I’m not proud of that.) Or the thing about toe-tapping in a mens’ room. (Larry Craig’s happy encounter was on public record long before it was public.)

Anyway, when things look too perfect, when Bush gets exactly what he needs when he needs it, be suspicious. In politics, things are never what they appear. That’s why I love it so.