Thompson Calls Justice Dept Decision "Stunning And Disappointing"

All the principal players have had something to say about the Justice Department's decision to uphold the Mayor and Council's term limit extension law. One of those happen to be Mayor Bloomberg's primary opponent, NYC Comptroller candidate Bill Thompson.



It's great to see him talk about the issue, but this press conference will not persuade the Justice Department to change their ruling. If Thompson wants to be the one that ousts Bloomberg, he needs to start talking about his vision for New York and what he intends to do for the people that Bloomberg can't or won't accomplish.

Obama's Justice Dept. Gives Bloomberg A Pass

Not that I was counting on the Justice Department to stop the legally dubious extension of term limits, but it was still disheartening to see their decision in favor of Mayor Bloomberg. The Mayor and Council deliberately went around the will of the people this past October/November and extended term limits despite two separate ballot decisions that put those limits in place. Plenty of challenges were made to the change in the law, but nearly all have failed, as far as the courts and now the Attorney General are concerned.

From The Daily Politics:

It now appears that there are only two possible bumps remaining between the mayor and completely smooth sailing to the fall elections - and both of them are longshots: The term limits lawsuit (now on appeal) and legislation that is moving, albeit slowly, in both houses of the state Legislature that would require another public referendum on the term limits change.

Here's the text:

This refers to Local Law No. 51 (2008), which amends Sections 1137 and 1138 of the city charter as they relate to term limits for the offices of city councilmembers, mayor and other elected officials in the City of New York in Bronx, Kings, and New York Counties, New York, submitted to the Attorney General pursuant to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C 1973c. We received your submission January 16, 2009; supplemental information was received on February 26, 2009."

The Attorney General does not interpose any objection to the specified changes. However, we note that Section 5 expressly provides that the failure of the Attorney General to object does not bar subsequent litigation to enjoin the forcement of the changes. Procedures for the Administration of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (28 C.F.R. 51.41).

Sincerely,

Christopher Coates
Chief, Voting Section

I had discussed the matter with a friend who is knowledgeable in civil rights law to get a take on how this would play out. Basically, this was to be expected because rarely will the Justice Department overturn a bill passed by a City Council. Unless the action of the local government is so egregious in its' violation of the Voting Rights Act, the likelihood of interference is nil. Despite the (obvious and) implicit effect on the rights of minorities here, there is nothing in the bill's language that directly impacts their ability to vote fairly.

This attitude will likely be held by the whole of the State Legislature as well. For a state law that trumps city law would also step on the toes of the locality. Even though the bills in Albany to overturn Local Law 51 have made some progress, the possibility of them making it to the floor and passing is slim to none.

So what does this all mean? Basically, if we want to punish Bloomberg, Quinn and the other 28 Council Members for extending term limits, we need to vote them out in the upcoming primary and general elections. Bloomberg, being as out of touch as he is, thinks that people will forget the undemocratic political maneuver. However, as long as we get out there and fight for change in this city, we'll kick Bloomberg to the curb, where he belongs.

Bloomberg Still Waiting On Justice Dept's O.K.

Mayor Bloomberg is already spending millions on his re-election campaign, yet it could all be for naught. The Justice Department has yet to make a decision to allow the term limits extension to go through. The courts have given him a pass, thanks to Christine Quinn the Council let it pass but it must check out with the Voting Rights Act first and the deadline is tomorrow.

From The NY Daily News:

The Department of Justice's section for voting rights must decide by Tuesday whether the October term limits extension will hurt minority voters.

If it does, every two-term incumbent in the November elections would be suddenly ineligible - sending Bloomberg and a boatload of other politicians on a retirement cruise.

The city Law Department filed 1,789 pages with Justice to make sure that doesn't happen, saying that "term limits by definition affect all candidates and their constituencies in precisely the same manner" without any racial overtones.

Norman Siegel and Randy Mastro - lawyers on the other side of the issue - sent their own sheaf of paper to Justice pointing out what should be glaringly obvious to anyone who looks at the City Council: Without term limits, incumbents stay in their seats.

"Since 1993, no minority candidate has ever unseated a white incumbent for any municipal office in New York City," Mastro said. "It's a textbook case of a civil rights violation."

While the Bush Administration's DoJ would haven't thought twice about giving Bloomberg his chance to hold onto power, the Obama Administration might have other ideas. They may also listen to several local Democratic Members of Congress who have voiced their own concerns about the Mayor and Council's term limit extension. Ultimately though, it comes down to whether the city's law violates the Voting Rights Act and as long as the DoJ analyzes the situation, they'll quash Bloomberg's (and many incumbent City Council Members) third term ambitions.

Justice Dept Finally Cares About Civil Rights Laws...For Whites

With a week to go in the Bush Administration, the Justice Department has finally decided to act on defending civil rights. Ironically though, it isn't to help combat the racial prejudice against minorities but to sue the city of Gary, Indiana for not hiring white EMTs. Perhaps this is one last hurrah and tip of the cap to the social conservatives still out there that would love to go back to the pre-civil rights reform era.

From RawStory:

The suit alleges that the city told applicants that offers of employment would be based on the order they were ranked. But the city seems to have ignored their own ordering and instead hired several African American applicants who placed lower than the white applicants.

Each of the six who were hired ranked lower than the highest-ranking white applicant, the Justice Department wrote.

OMG! This must be a case of affirmative action to the nth degree and a concerned citizen brigade's worst nightmare come true. It is but one example of the systematic persecution of whites in this country and it must be stopped here in Gary. Oh wait a sec, what, you want to know what Gary officials are saying?

Gary's corporate counsel, Hamilton Carmouche, told a local paper the list was prepared by the city's previous mayor, and gave preference to applicants who lived in Gary.

"We hire not on the basis of any race, but on the basis of residency," Carmouche said.

Shocking! Gary wants to hire people from within the community. Terrible isn't it?

Seriously though, for the last eight years the Justice Department has all but forgotten about standing up for civil rights in this country. Unless it was to protect a corporation in need or help a loyal Republican operative, the DoJ has been MIA. Spare us this phony discrimation crap and slowly exit the building before the grownups from the Obama camp arrive.

Without Regard For The Consequences

John Koppel does not care about the consequences of his actions and we are all grateful for it. Mr. Koppel has worked in the Justice Department since 1981. He still works there (for now at least) and he has never seen anything as bad as George Bush and his sidekick Al Gonzales. Within two days of Scooter Libby's commutation, he wrote a devastating indictment of how Bush has dismantled the DoJ in the Denver Post.

From the Op-Ed:

As a longtime attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, I can honestly say that I have never been as ashamed of the department and government that I serve as I am at this time.

The public record now plainly demonstrates that both the DOJ and the government as a whole have been thoroughly politicized in a manner that is inappropriate, unethical and indeed unlawful. The unconscionable commutation of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's sentence, the misuse of warrantless investigative powers under the Patriot Act and the deplorable treatment of U.S. attorneys all point to an unmistakable pattern of abuse.

In the course of its tenure since the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration has turned the entire government (and the DOJ in particular) into a veritable Augean stable on issues such as civil rights, civil liberties, international law and basic human rights, as well as criminal prosecution and federal employment and contracting practices. It has systematically undermined the rule of law in the name of fighting terrorism, and it has sought to insulate its actions from legislative or judicial scrutiny and accountability by invoking national security at every turn, engaging in persistent fearmongering, routinely impugning the integrity and/or patriotism of its critics, and protecting its own lawbreakers. This is neither normal government conduct nor "politics as usual," but a national disgrace of a magnitude unseen since the days of Watergate - which, in fact, I believe it eclipses.

Read it all, it is an incredible essay and damning synopsis on the Bush Administration. We all pretty much assume what probably goes on in the Department of Justice, but this man knows with absolute certainty. Thank you Mr.Koppel, you are a brave man.

"Nixonian"

Sen. Patrick Leahy was on Press The Meat yesterday and slammed the Bush Administration for stonewalling the investigation of the Justice Department. Not only did he bark at them, but threatened to bite by taking the matter to the courts if the White House does not comply by the beginning of next week.

Bush Administration Hampered Murder Investigation

The latest twist in events surrounding the U.S. Attorney scandal has reached new heights and perilously low bottoms when it comes to basic human morality. It turns out that John McKay was singled out for removal a while back because of his fight with the Justice Dept to investigate the death of fellow U.S. Attorney Tom Wales.

From The Washington Post:

Several officials familiar with the investigation said McKay and other officials in Seattle believed that senior Justice officials were not paying enough attention to the case. Sampson did not cite specifics, saying only that McKay had demanded actions that led to conflicts, congressional aides familiar with his account said.

The suggestion of a connection between the firing and the unsolved Wales murder case generated angry reactions from McKay and others in western Washington yesterday.

"The idea that I was pushing too hard to investigate the assassination of a federal prosecutor -- it's mind-numbing" that they would suggest that, McKay said. " . . . If it's true, it's just immoral, and if it's false, then the idea that they would use the death of Tom Wales to cover up what they did is just unconscionable."

Well morality has never come easy to the top echelons of the Justice Department and their friends over at the White House. What is amazing is that they would want to drag McKay's feet on a murder investigation. What was the reasoning behind it? Did they just want McKay to focus on investigating Democrats, or was there something more sinister behind it? No senior Justice Department officials came to the funeral, which was considered very odd. Nor did Gonzales attend the fifth year commemoration of his death. He sent an underling instead. Perhaps the two events were out of carelessness for protocol, but who knows?

Either way, it is a travesty that McKay and several of his colleagues' ouster occurred in the manner that it did. Gonzales and the White House can continue to deny that they did anything wrong but the public sees it differently. We all do.