Libby to go to prison, not pass Go but he will collect millions in wingnut welfare.

As expected, Judge Walton denied Libby's request that his entry into the federal prison system be delayed until Bush feels he can Pardon him with relatively little political damage ///uh... I mean until Libby's appeals are denied.

Digby lists some of the more prominent forms of planned wingnut public grief.

I am quite disgusted at the attempts to protect Libby

Scooter Libby may normally be a really fine person. At least when dealing with others of his own class. But this time he screwed up. He lied to the FBI and he lied to the grand Jury. Those are serious federal felonies. Digby points out just how out of line and low-class the various right-wing protectors and pundits have been as they have tried to get him off from the utterly inadequate sentence that Judge Walton has imposed. Here is, I think, Digby's best paragraph on the subject:

My advice for Scooter is to tell all these crybabies to back off and take a lesson from Martha Stewart, who showed twice the class and three times the grit he has. Shut up, suck it up and do your time. It won't be the end of the world --- he'll have a lifetime of wingnut welfare waiting for him when he gets out and the GOP mafia will take care of his family while he's in the joint. Let's face it, his career in government was over anyway --- anyone closely associated with Dick Cheney now has the mark of the kevorka. No president will ever trust him again. So, show some class and take it like a man. It's not such a bad fate for a man who helped bring misery, heartache and death to hundreds of thousands of people.

What it comes down to is that Scooter is "One of them." and their shit don't stink. If he committed a crime, then it is not a crime because he is "One of them."

Well, the jury did what the evidence told them they had to do, and they convicted him. Scooter's utter lack of remorse for his criminal behavior rather certainly did not help him in sentencing. The Bush-appointed, Republican Senate approved federal Judge, Judge Walton, made especially sure that there were no apparent valid grounds for an appeal, so Libby has no valid reason not to start his sentence in prison immediately.

Will someone tell these criminal-coddlers that the rule of law applies to Republicans as well as to illegal immigrants?

But Scooter has one last chance. Bush might Pardon him. Of course, Libby does not meet the normal requirements for a Pardon, such as having served his sentence, shown remorse, and turned his life around from a life of crime, but just maybe Bush will Pardon Libby.

It should be kept in mind that Bush does not appear to understand empathy. He is also the President in the last century who has given the fewest Pardons, by far. Cheney might convince Bush to present a Pardon, but indications are that Bush and Cheney are not especially close these days. Besides, if all of America is very, very lucky, Cheney will not be able to return to work after he undergoes surgery next July to change out the built in defibrillator that Cheney uses as a substitute for a heart.

There is hope, America. While Scooter is clearly a criminal, convicted and judged, he is a Washington insider and high-ranking Republican. But this one criminal, at least, may actually pay a small price for his crimes. I know, I know, we may all be forced to watch as Republicans and Washington pundits swoon at such an injustice to one of their own. The rest of us should just remain surprised that the Republicans and conservatives have not yet totally destroyed America's justice system. Maybe there are even a few others who will get what they deserve.

There is hope. This is still America, not yet Republicanstan.

More on a possible Libby Pardon

Take a look at the established procedures required for the President to issue a Pardon, courtesy of Looseheadprop at Firedoglake. At least skim over them before going on to the rest of what I am writing.

My first thought is that the Constitution did not establish these procedures. Presidents who had to consider all the requests they get for a Pardon put them into place. If they simply decided based on intuition, the appearance (and probably the fact) would be that the President's friends get Pardona and his enemies do not.

Nothing in the Constitution prevents this. However, the political ramifications for the President and his party are likely to be quite bad.

One thing to consider is that the President's conservative base is largely Right-wing authoritarians who beleive that God provides each person with the punishements and rewards they deserve, and God's will should not be interfered with. I have seen discussions that Bush will certainly give a Pardon, but not until after the November 2008 elections are over. I have also seen that Bush has no real loyalty to someone who is out of his sight, and won't bother to Pardon him. The latter option may find some support in the fact that Bush has issued fewer Pardons than any other President in the last fifty years.

Frankly, I don't give Libby a real chance for a Pardon. The 2008 election season has already started, and it would damage the Republican Party electorially. That really leaves Bush with the option of giving a Pardon after the 2008 election.

What you will see, however, is a growing drumbeat in the media that begins to ramp up after Libby is sentenced in June. Whether he gets the Pardon after the November 2008 election will depend on the strength of that appeal in thet media (if it is a small thing that sort of dies out and occasionally is ressurrected Libby is out of luck.) The other thing is whether there is a strong positive response from the public to the media barrage. Again, a strong reaction will get Libby his Pardon. A "dead-cat bounce" will get him stuck in prison. Cheney, if he remains in office, may feel enough loyalty to twist Bush's arm for the Pardon, and we know that Cheny doesn't care about public reactions.

I would hestitate to guess, but I'm counting on Libby not being Pardoned. Any trends will appear first in June.