Former Governor Siegelman explains how anybody can help make sure Karl Rove is held accountable for his crimes.

At Netroots Nation, we asked former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman whether the House Judiciary Committee had subpoenaed Karl Rove to testify about anything that could be construed as his "official duties," which is what White House Counsel Fred Fielding has suggested.

Siegelman's response:

How could it possibly be part of Karl Rove's offical duties to hijack the Department of Justice and use it as a political tool to prosecute those people whom they don't like or whom they think are political opponents?

Karl Rove was involved in the allocation of resoures to the Department of Justice and there is a question, certainly a question is raised as to his conduct and the people that he put into place over at the Department of Justice and whether they were programmed to abuse power for political reasons.

According to the LA Times, the HJC has called on Rove to testify about his involvement in Siegelman's case, as well as the politicization of the Department of Justice.  So far, Rove has refused to testify under oath, falsely claiming executive privilege and immunity as an aide to the president.  

Just because Rove has been the mastermind behind one of the most criminal administrations in U.S. history does not make him above the law.  And in this case, he could be breaking it on multiple counts: his politically motivated prosecutions of leaders like Siegelman AND his failure to comply with a Congressional subpoena. 

Siegelman wants you to urge Congress to hold Rove in contempt.  We want you to take this action even further. Join over 90,000 people who want to send Karl Rove to Jail.

This sounds like a dream, doesn't it?   Well, it's not.  We have a unique opportunity right now to send Karl Rove to jail, but only if we take immediate action.

All we have to do is pressure the 40 members of the House Judiciary Committee, make them hold Rove in contempt and send him to jail.  We've never had such a direct opportunity to hold Rove accountable.  No, this is not enough punishment for his years and years of crimes, but it's a huge start, and will send a very clear message to the entire Bush administration.

We put together this video to explain the issues surrounding Rove's failure to testify before Congress, and why Rove should be held in contempt and sent to jail.  Check out Send Karl Rove to Jail, and sign our petition to ensure that the HJC holds Rove in contempt. 

Today at 1pm ET / 10am PT, the first episode of Meet the Bloggers will air live, and Karl Rove will be the big topic of discussion with bloggers Marcy Wheeler, Liliana Segura, Baratunde Thurston, and special guest Arianna Huffington.  The video will be featured on the show, sign the petition, forward it to friends (don't forget to Digg it), and go to meetthebloggers.org to send in your own thoughts, and join the discussion at 1pm ET. 

If you can't watch live, you can always see what was discussed on the show anytime you want at meetthebloggers.org.

Joe Lieberman on Connecticut Sunday talk show "Beyond the Headlines." 

Watch Lieberman's warmongering about Iran.  He confuses Iraq with Iran, and then he claims he never advocated a military strike against Iran but is corrected by host Shelly Sindland.

Yesterday, Joe Lieberman was asked about our Lieberman Must Go campaign when he appeared on Connecticut talk show “Beyond the Headlines,” which airs on a local FOX affiliate.  After Lieberman first attempted to deflect host Sherry Sindland's question with a trademark shrug and an awkward joke ("I'm definitely not going to sign that petition"), he accused us of partisan politics.  Meanwhile, he maintained that his unconditional support for John McCain is somehow "non-partisan."

Just to be clear, this is the same Lieberman who has publicly endorsed McCain and has traveled all over the country and the world on his behalf.  This is the same Lieberman who has been pushing his hawkish support for Bush-McCain's deeply unpopular war in Iraq.  This is the same Lieberman who has viciously attacked Barack Obama time and time again.  And yet he is lecturing us about partisan politics?

Still, the very fact that Lieberman must now answer a question like this highlights the mounting tension around our call for the Democratic Steering Committee to strip Lieberman of his rank within the Senate.  Last week’s petition delivery, with all 43,000 signatures, commanded a slew of media coverage.  It pressured Steering Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) to comment on MSNBC.  And it’s mentioned again on the front page of today’s New York Times, in an article about how Lieberman has alienated his former friends and allies in the Democratic party.

In fact, Bob Novak reports that Lieberman will be booted from the party's caucus if he addresses the Republican National Convention as planned.  And still, Lieberman won't heed warnings from his own party, just as he won't listen to polls in his home state of Connecticut, where his approval rating has dropped below 50 percent while he has been out campaigning with McCain.

This week’s delivery of our Lieberman Must Go petition was a smashing success!  Our own Communications Associate Eddie Kurtz flew to Washington to deliver the 43,000 signature petition, which demands that the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee strip Joe Lieberman of his committee chairmanship and rank within the caucus in January 2009, following the November election.  After Kurtz held a press conference with Matt Stoller of Open Left, David Waldman (Kagro X) of Daily Kos, and Marc Laitlin, he took our foot-thick petition directly to the office of Steering Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).

Our petition delivery commanded the attention of the mainstream press, prompting national coverage in The New York Times, US News & World Report, The Hill, the Associated Press, and from vital local outlets like The New Haven Register.  

All of this coverage is crucial in amplifying our message. What’s more, it elevates your grassroots efforts to the national level.  Despite the fact that the petition was, as Kurtz said, kind of "wonky," you immediately grasped its importance; it is highly problematic for someone as hawkish and conservative as Lieberman, who has publicly endorsed John McCain and backs the Bush-McCain war in Iraq, to hold a high ranking seat in the Democratic caucus. 

By signing and spreading the petition, you helped us catch the eye of larger news outlets, which in turn alerted both the Steering Committee and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who so far has not said whether he will strip Lieberman of his chairmanship on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee next year.  It is for this very reason that we must keep this pressure up, and just imagine how many more will sign our petition now that they have seen it in the mainstream press.  

You're not going to believe what FOX is up to now—we could hardly believe it ourselves.  Not only are they smearing Michelle Obama with racist stereotypes, but then they offer a feeble apology that they believe gives them the right to slander her again.  That's what happened when FOX called Michelle and Barack Obama's fist bump a "terrorist fist jab," apologized, and then less than a week later referred to Michelle Obama as Barack's "Baby Mama."

FOX's long history of racism is nothing new, but it has been particularly egregious when it comes to their coverage of the Obamas.  Racism and fearmongering have no place in our country or its politics, despite what FOX would have you believe.  That's why we put together this video, FOX Attacks Michelle Obama.

We cannot allow FOX's heinous smears and scare tactics to continue.  Sign our petition and stop FOX from injecting racism, prejudice, and fear into our political dialogue.  Then, send it to all your friends and family members for them to sign as well.  And spread it on sites like Digg to create an uproar.

We cannot allow FOX to make politics about stereotypes, misinformation, and flat-out dishonesty.  Not now.  Not ever.

Just how is buyout billionaire Bruce Wasserstein gouging our country's elderly?  Let's connect the dots: Wasserstein is the CEO of Lazard and has made billions by buying companies, cutting costs, and turning quick profits.  Lazard owns and manages Atria Senior Living—the third largest assisted-living provider in the U.S.—as a private equity investment.  Atria has been mismanaging its facilities left and right, making medication mistakes, wrongly locking in residents, and even failing to call emergency services. 

What is Atria's response?  The company slapped residents on a fixed income with steep rent increases to as much as $8,500 per month.  What's more, Atria pays its staff a measly average of $8-10 an hour with unaffordable healthcare, while Wasserstein made $41 million in 2007 alone.  That's right, Wasserstein is getting rich off our nation's grandmas and grandpas, a gross injustice that we have exposed in our newest video, Bruce Wasserstein: Gouging Grandma.

We have joined the SEIU to demand that Wasserstein stop gouging our grandparents and respect its employees.  Here's what you can do:

• Sign the petition from Campaign to Improve Assisted Living and Tell Bruce Wasserstein to Stop Gouging Seniors.

• E-mail this video and the petition to all your friends, family members, and coworkers. 

• Spread the word on sites like Digg, which will help create a public outcry to pressure Wasserstein and Lazard.

Make sure everyone knows we won't stand for Wasserstein's despicable behavior, and make sure it happens today.

Did that headline grab your attention?  It's exactly the kind of slimy trick FOX News played when anchor E.D. Hill began her show America's Pulse with the teaser: "A fist bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab? The gesture everyone seems to interpret differently." 

Well, by FOX's own insane equation (fist bump + slanderous spin = terrorist threat), Sen. Joe Lieberman is a terrorist.  After all, Lieberman can be seen in this video giving a fist bump to someone at what looks to be a golf game, judging by Lieberman's polo shirt and khaki pants. 

Do we really believe that Joe Lieberman is a terrorist?  Of course not!  But if we were loyal FOX News viewers (perish the thought), we would have come away from Hill's show thinking that Obama was a terrorist over the innocent hand gesture he gave his wife upon clinching the Democratic nomination.  And then we would believe that Lieberman, along with all of the people seen here in Media Matters' gallery of fist bumps, were terrorists as well.

Joe Lieberman is a war hawk, plain and simple.  He staunchly supports George Bush's War in Iraq and John McCain's plan to stay in Iraq for 100 years.  But Lieberman's new alliance with the Republican Party runs even deeper.  He has endorsed and stumped for McCain, wants to be the star of the Republican National Convention, and has even served on a 527 group that smeared Barack Obama with a nasty attack ad.