just as furious, but a bit more reasoned this time
So I've spent a lot of time thinking about why I'm so furious that Bush commuted Libby's sentence, and I think I've distilled it down to something quite simple:
I grew up believing that all Americans were equal under the law. In fact, that's what divided America from the rest of the world, I thought, and that's what made America great: we didn't have to fear being taken from our houses in the middle of the night, arrested for expressing unpopular opinions, and no matter what, everyone was entitled to a fair trial by jury of his peers.
The Libby commutation crystallizes so much of what's wrong with the Bush Junta, and how severely they have hurt America: Bush has massively abused his presidential power to elevate himself, Cheney, and a select group of people to some sort of extra-legal status that is profoundly unamerican.
This isn't what I was lead to believe America was about, and this action, coming on top of the historically unprecedented claims of executive privilege, constant stream of lies to the American people and our representatives in Congress, and Bush and Cheney's insanely unamerican belief that the President and a select few that he chooses are above the law is the last straw for me.
The fact that the only hope we have to do anything about this rests on the spineless cowards in the Democratic majority (I'm a left-leaning Libertarian Democrat, FWIW) who seem to think that they were put into the majority in the last election so they could talk about maybe one day holding some hearings with a little bit of non-sworn off the record bullshit that laughingly passes as "testimony" fills me with rage. These idiots are afraid of their own shadow, and seem to think that the very wise men in the punditocracy and DLC consultant world are who they should listen to, instead of their constituents who put them into the fucking majority in the first place.
I believe, now, that the only way we the people are going to get our country back is to do what we did during the civil rights movement: take to the streets by the hundreds of thousands, and bring the country to a halt with sustained, non-violent, passive resistance on a scale that hasn't been seen since Ghandi forced the British out of India.
In other words, we are totally fucked.
Happy Birthday, America. You used to be cool.
Comments
This is almost exactly how I feel. I am not very knowledgable about politics but when, for me, Bush stopped being someone to be made fun of for his idiotic mumblings and someone who just sucked, and became someone I despise and am sickened by, who I actually think is evil AND stupid, that is pretty bad. For a while now I keep thinking, what is the answer? How is real change going to come about? Revolt? and you answered it right there for me. we're fucked.
Not that I'm claiming to have sighted political spines anywhere.
I've also been trying to think why I'm upset, since of course it's not as if they care about public opinion, the legal system, justice, or much of anything else.
What I come up with is that, in the face of incredible odds, we actually got one of these goons good and proper.
Certainly not for everything he's done.
Certainly not one of the big dogs.
But we finally got one of the snivelling little bastards.
Oops, no we didn't.
The thing is, use of presidential power to commute, pardon, or otherwise interfere with judicial branch efforts was seen, even at its inception, as being dangerously close to providing a class-based system where friends of the executive branch could be let off the hook. We've seen that with other pardons, even with Clinton, but this is the first time we've seen someone called on the carpet for what should be an act of treason (!!!) found guilty, and given a Get Out of Jail Free card by Bush.
We need to be angry. We need to realize that this elitist, classist regime has spit in our face and expects us to grin and take it.
Good man Wil, good man.
Anyone got a link for new Olbermann?
Let's take a look.
1) I really don't think opinion was "half and half" with Clinton.
I think this was, in fact, the sledgehammer and the fly
The Republicans wasted millions of our tax dollars to uncover a man lying about extra-marital consensual sex between adults, but failed to ignite the populace behind them.
Here's some numbers:
In August and September of 1998, 16 major polls asked about impeaching President Clinton, only 36% supported hearings to consider impeachment, and only 26% supported actual impeachment and removal.
(Source www.democrats.com/clinton-impeachment-polls)
2) I don't think it's half and half now either.
Here are the results of an unscientific, but fun, MSNBC poll. 88% of those applying agreed --"Yes, between the secret spying, the deceptions leading to war, and more, there is plenty to justify putting him on trial."
(www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10562904).
Probably of course, the actual number is lower, since an online news outlet poll privileges the informed, and thus under-represents Bush supporters.
(Okay, that was snarky.)
3) "Is this any different than when Clinton was left off the hook for lying to Congress and obstructing Congress."
Hell yes.
Hiding one's own sexual indiscretion is not the same as covering up the treason of others
Yes, Libby "only" lied and obstructed justice, but by doing so he has helped cover a major crime, almost certainly committed by highly placed adminstration figures.
4) "I think the bigger problem is in the local and state politics where the impact is more personal and immediate."
Oh I don't know about this. Seems to me that there are people killed and maimed in Iraq for whom the impact of national politics is personal and immediate.
Oh, and lots of people who used to live in New Orleans too.
I find it very suspicious when anyone suggests that we just stop looking at the guy behind the curtain,.
And I don't know enough about those pardons to know whether it is just more mud-slinging a la Whitewater, or if there is something to it.
And certainly the Republicans are in something of a glass house when it comes to complaining about the financial misconduct of others.
But.
This isn't about Clinton.
At all.
It's about covering up treason in the White House.
When someone outs an active covert agent, people die.
Everyone she ever had lunch with is now in trouble.
And it all boils down to a petty desire for petty revenge from the small-minded poops running our government.
All the bellyaching in the world over what Clinton did or didn't do is just a red herring.
It, Doesn't. Matter.
Now a hard and articulate censure ..... I can go for that.
regards,