home

Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career

By Jeralyn, Section Judiciary
Posted on Sun May 15, 2005 at 11:31:37 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

Have you been wondering why the Bush Administration is making such a big deal out of nominee Priscilla Owen? The New York Times has the answer: Her entire judicial career has been orchestrated by Karl Rove. At three critical times, he has intervened to push her to the next level.

Rove got her on the Texas Supreme Court.

Justice Owen was, by all accounts, a respected but little-known lawyer in Houston in 1994 when she was first elected to the State Supreme Court with Mr. Rove's support and tutelage. Her experience up to then largely involved obscure legal cases involving pipelines and federal energy regulations.

....Mr. Rove, who had helped select her as the Republican candidate, helped raise more than $926,000 for her campaign, almost half from lawyers and others who had business before the court, according to Texans for Public Justice, a liberal group in Austin that tracks Texas campaign donations. Mr. Rove's firm was paid some $247,000 in fees.

Then he got Bush to nominate her for the Fifth Circuit.

When Mr. Bush was first elected to the White House, Mr. Rove again chose Ms. Owen, by then a justice on the Texas Supreme Court for nearly a decade, to be among the president's first appeals court candidates, administration and Congressional officials said. In doing so, the officials said, Mr. Rove had to disagree with Alberto R. Gonzales, then the White House counsel and now attorney general. Mr. Gonzales had served on the Texas Supreme Court with Justice Owen and while he liked her greatly, he had preferred another member of the court, Justice Deborah Hankinson, for the federal court seat.

We might have seen the last of her last year except for Rove's third intervention. Texas Governor Rick Perry offered her the Chief Justice slot on the Texas Supreme Court. The Times reports Karl Rove advised she turn it down so she would remain available for the federal seat on the 5th Circuit.

All this says to me is that Priscilla Owens will be confirmed one way or another. I now suspect that the Democrats will agree to an up and down vote on her and justify it on the grounds that it will avoid the nuclear option. I'd rather see the nuclear option unfold. I don't think Bill Frist has the votes.

It's looking more and more like this is all just about politics - not the good of the Senate or the Judiciary - and Karl Rove is the party in power.

< Australia to Send Us Its Lawyers | Sensenbrenner's Snitch-or-Go-to-Jail Bill >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career | 15 comments (15 topical)
    Re: Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career (none / 0) (#1)
    by The Heretik on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:05 PM EST
    Rove's involvement does explain why Owen has been re submitted. Agreed Frist doesn't have the votes. Think this will come crashing down on Bush.

    Re: Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:05 PM EST
    There seems to be a consistent theme of graft and influence peddling. Can we go over the values thing one more time please? No Priscilla Owen on the Federal Bench, please.

    Re: Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career (none / 0) (#3)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:05 PM EST
    et al - If Karl Rove didn't exist the Left would have to invent him. I mean, he is one busy dude.

    Re: Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career (none / 0) (#4)
    by aw on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:05 PM EST
    If Karl Rove didn't exist the Left would have to invent him. Well, he does exist. So what are you trying to tell us?

    Re: Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career (none / 0) (#5)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:05 PM EST
    Smoking Gun aw, Common tactic. Focus attention away from the real issue, which is often a bit more layered than some simple minds might want you to believe.

    Re: Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career (none / 0) (#6)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:05 PM EST
    aw - If I have to explain that comment then you won't understand.

    Re: Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:05 PM EST
    She's the worst of the worst in Bush's judicial hall of shame. As dumb as she is mean.

    Re: Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career (none / 0) (#8)
    by Darryl Pearce on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:05 PM EST
    I heard Sean Hannity on my radio last week while "frequency surfing" (he's on five Ventura County radio stations, by the way). He complained about a "Clinton-appointed judge." But he will remain silent on this?

    Re: Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career (none / 0) (#9)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:07 PM EST
    From the article: "The decision was one of three crucial moments in her judicial career in which she seemed to have been guided by the hand of Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's chief political strategist..." Just in case you have questions, "seemed to have" is a qualifier that means: "We have no proof, just gossip, but we don't have a story without this huge assumpation."

    Re: Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career (none / 0) (#10)
    by wishful on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:07 PM EST
    Follow the money, it's in the article. Rove had a significant hand in Owen's career, and took a little for himself too. No doubts about it.

    Re: Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career (none / 0) (#11)
    by aw on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:07 PM EST
    You're right, I generally don't understand PPJ-speak.

    Re: Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career (none / 0) (#12)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:08 PM EST
    et al - From the article: "so she could remain one of President Bush's nominees to a federal appeals court, Texas lawyers and political figures said in recent interviews." So what we have here are unnamed sources followed up by a huge qualifier. That is barely one cut above a high school newspaper "Tatler's" column... "Who did the ole Tatler see slipping around with...." Doesn't make any difference to me, but after watching the MSM make mistake after mistake based on laziness, sloppiness and a "hate Bush" attitude, I am just amazed the management of these organizations will tolerate stories such as this.

    Re: Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:08 PM EST
    The same is true of California's fake governator, who is a Karl Rove protege. Diebold, who are conspirators and traitors, put him into power in the stolen recall election of 2003, which Rove engineered. When the governator met with ENRON Ken Lay and Junkbond scammer Michael Milken DURING the California energy crisis conspiracy, it wasn't to share milk and cookies. You will notice that the Bustamante lawsuit against Enron doesn't make it into the news any more. $11 Billion, which is letting them off cheap-- but they won't pay a cent of that. And Dick Cheney's asbestos lawsuits are going to evaporate as well. But Jim's right -- we're giving Rove too much credit. The real credit goes to the bank of rightwing thinktanks, who have worked for 30 years to design this takeover of American government, using stolen elections, threats, murder, and fascist tactics of all kinds, gleaned from the annals of hated power throughout history. These Lovers of Ladeenism believe that they are specially chosen to run America -- to hell with just law, democracy, and the Constitution. Owen is just another cog in that wheel of treason.

    Re: Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career (none / 0) (#14)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:10 PM EST
    PIL writes - "$11 Billion, which is letting them off cheap-- but they won't pay a cent of that." Actually I think they don't have any money, but don't let that stop a good rant.

    Re: Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:10 PM EST
    Wrong again, Jim. What, do you just pull this stuff out of your arse? "Total assets of $62.8 billion at September 30, 2001" (Fitch) You cannot enter Chapter 11 with no assets. That's what Chapter 7 (liquidation) is for.

    Karl Rove Guided Priscilla Owen's Career | 15 comments (15 topical)