HJC votes to hold Rove in contempt of Congress

This is one of those magical stories that puts a big ol’ goofy grin on my face. I’ve been wondering why, for a while, Karl Rove was allowed to just leave the country and defy a Congressional subpoena without anyone caring. As it turns out, the House Judiciary Committee cares, and they just voted to hold Rove in contempt of Congress.

The House Judiciary Committee’s 20-14 vote along party lines escalated the dispute between the Bush administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress over lawmakers’ demand for testimony by presidential aides.

This vote, by the way, perfectly encapsulates what is focking wrong with the Republican party. There is absolutely no reason objectively to vote this way unless it was simply party defiance. Rove flagrantly broke the law, and whether you think having him testify is a political stunt is irrelevant, the point is he was subpoenaed. You don’t get to pick and choose when the laws apply based on if you’re happy with it.

Could you imagine if this had happened with a Democrat? Picture that in the middle of the Clinton scandals, if Clinton had just decided he doesn’t need to testify? We’d be buried in an avalanche of “Democrats don’t care about the rule of law!!” and calls for public hangings.

Republicans put party above all else. Their decisions and opinions aren’t based on objective application of the laws, but from what benefits Republicans. This vote makes that inarguable.