So now that I’ve had the night to sleep on this whole thing, I’m still just as angry as I was yesterday. Sure, I’ve wiped the foam from my mouth and I’ve lost most of the twitch, but the impact of the double standard, and the callous disregard for our legal system is just plain unbelievable.
Let me make this clear, I always expected that Bush would pardon Libby…eventually. I never thought it would happen with 18 months left in his administration. I also understand that what Bush did yesterday WAS COMMUTE THE SENTNCE, NOT PARDON Libby. Ok, still guilty, just no jail time, he loses his shingle, pays a fine, does some probation, publishes his memoirs, and goes to work for Halliburton next week…fine, we all knew it would happen as some point. Still, I expected some time in the pokey. I mean, I figured the day after the election next year, the pardon would come down, not now.
Jail is the stick that is supposed to keep people from going too far off the reservation (even though all of us adults who don’t live in fairy tale land know that jail doesn’t stop crazy from doing anything). For a “Law and Order” President (no not TN Thompson) to bypass the law is so out of character…Libby must have something on him.
We already know that this administration is freelancing the constitution like Charlie Parker on a 3-day heroin blitz. Between the domestic spying, the alleged use of the US Attorneys office as a political tool, the potential war crimes, and their latest hit, the fourth branch of government (I swear they got the idea from a Taco Bell commercial) this administration has been engaged in a good deal of subterfuge for some time.
So let’s look at all the things that we have to look forward to from this administration in the next 18 months.
1. Congressional Subpoenas (8/07) – The President will ignore the subpoenas of Congress, be held in contempt, and will direct his Justice Department to do nothing to prosecute. The Congress in a stuttering fit of rage will scream out for it’s baba, and pass an Independent Council law, to replace the one that expired in 1999. The President will veto, and laugh all the way to 2009.
2. Assault on Iran (12/07) – As a result of single digit approval ratings and at the direction of his Wahhabi oil dealers, President Bush ordered the US Navy and Air Force to strike Iran for failing to end the flow of black market arms into Iraq and Afghanistan. China, one of Iran’s chief defenders in the UN Security Council, has given its workers 2 weeks off to punish the US, hitting hard their deep dependence on cheap plastic goods. Wal-Mart announces mandatory vacations for stocking staff.
3. Backdoor funding of the War (2/08) – When Congress voted last September to de-fund the war in Iraq by January ‘08, they fully expected troops to start returning to their home bases. Now it seems there are more troops in Iraq than ever. Some 250,000 US troops and convicted conscripts are currently stationed in Iraq to defend the country from the onslaught of the Iranian Army after the month long air strikes crippled the countries oil distribution system. “Where is the money coming from”, declared Rep. Obey (D-WI), House Appropriations Committee chair. “This is just unbelievable!”, he continued as he was carried off by Secret Service agents, “We will get to the bottom of this.”
4. Oil tops $100/barrel (3/08) – With two of the Middle East’s top oil producers in conflict, and no hope of Saudi Arabia or Venezuela ramping up production, light sweet crude topped $100/ barrel today.
The rest started to get pretty out there, so I stopped.
Here’s my point, and then I’ll let you good people get back to your coffee and morning TV, the President has shown a lack of regard for the Constitution that he has sworn to uphold all while posturing about upholding the Constitution. The President relegated this “serious matter” as he called the outing of Valerie Plame’s identity in 9/03, to a political matter, which seems to be ALL THAT MATTERS to this White House.
The executive branch is not an arm of ANY political party, though it most certainly has been used as such over the past 6+ years, it is the branch that is charged with “faithfully executing the laws of the United States of America”. President Bush’s dereliction of duty on this count may not be an impeachable offense, but it at least rises to the level of censure.
The people are coming around to the deception of the Administration, which is interesting, because Democrats in Congress, who largely ran on a platform of corruption reform and bringing trust back to government, still seem gobsmacked at the possibility that something has gone horribly wrong. The American people are pissed at this lack of action, and the Congress needs to step up and get some things done immediately to address the concerns of the people. Unfortunately, it seems that Congress is as scared of bringing charges against the President as the President isn’t scared of Congress.
These “equal” branches of government have allowed the executive branch so much latitude that balancing the scales at this point will take something drastic. Waiting 18 months for a new President will only reinforce the standard set by this White House. If we want to right the ship, we need to do it now. It’s time for Congress to either step up, or for the leadership to step down and let someone with some balls take the reigns, lest we fall even further away from the gospel that is our Constitution.