Tonight I want to write more about Dick Cheney – in my last post I pointed out how the Obama administration was apparently feeding “info” to the press at times when the stories would be missed or buried by other news by Monday. In the case of Cheney’s apparent “ordering” the CIA to violate federal law – well, no surprise there to me – but, they weren’t able to “hide” the story and, as I’ve predicted, the pressure for investigations of the Bush/Cheney administration is mounting. The “stuff” is just going to keep coming out – these guys were operating a kind of mafia like administration – and, much to their chagrine – I’m sure – WE DO HAVE A CONSTITUTION. We’re about to find out how much the Democrats in Congress, in the Justice department, and the White House believe in the Constitution. I keep hearing the phrase that in America “No one is above the law.” Well, at some point I believe that phrase will hold true because I don’t think President Obama can stand in the way of finding out EVERYTHING the Bush administration was doing much longer. It’s almost getting embarrassing how they’re trying to avoid a showdown over this – especially considering that if they do it correctly – it will enhance (not detract) from their image to the VAST MAJORITY of Americans. Remember, only something a bit less than 1/4 of Americans now consider themselves “supporting” the Republican party.
Before I get to Cheney, and because I’ve spent a fair amount of time criticizing President Obama, I want to say a few words about him. I truly do believe he is a good and honorable man. I believe he’s a good husband and father to his family (that goes a long way with me), and I believe he’s a great ambassador for the ideals this nation rests on. I also consider President Obama to be VERY INTELLIGENT. As stated (probably) too many times on this site, I’m just not OK in his determination to reach out to the very Republicans who have undermined the credibility of this country to lead in a time of international unrest. He’s no longer a professor, or community organizer, he’s now the President of the United States. Personally, I’m tired of all the warmed over legislation that comes out of Washington and moves us nowhere – or sometimes, as with Bush, backwards. To me, change I can believe in is assertive decision making, courageous stands on critical issues, and the guts to push through what is right and live with the consequences. One example of what I’m talking about would be the stimulus bill. A bill could have been passed without a single Republican vote – a bill that would have included no tax cuts at all (in fact, in my view, at the time a gas tax would have been perfect) – and the bill could have tied up the same amount of taxpayer funds (well, OK, Chinese funds – if that’s where we’re getting the dough) and included 3 to 4 times the “stimulus” aimed at reconstruction of our infrastructure – and it would have thus generated countless additional jobs (which is going to be the “achilles heal” of Obama’s economic recovery plan). Once things start to turn around there will be plenty of Republicans who want to join in the action and then there might be the possibility of some kind of constructive “bi-partisanship.”
OK, back to Cheney. I studied the Constitution many years ago in college and I have to admit it’s a bit “foggy” to me at this point in time. However, if I remember correctly, the Vice President’s job is to take over for the President when appropriate (like death, or surgery, or something like where the President is not consciously available), direct the Senate, and basically walk the President’s dog. He’s NOT ANYWHERE IN THE “CHAIN OF COMMAND.” It is becoming more and more apparent how much Cheney was in the Chain of command. The present crisis regards a so-called “assasination squad” in the CIA which was targeting leaders of al Qaeda (why would that need to be secret whould be my first question) which Cheney ORDERED not to be reported to Congress as required by statute. To me, as stated in my last post, kind of “Oh well, another example of Dick Cheney breaking the law.” It’s such a benign story that I thought it might end up getting buried – and the Obama administration would get a repreive in their attempt to protect their predecessors from facing the criminal charges they so richly deserve to face.
Well, it’s Tuesday, and I’m still seeing and hearing a lot of “shock” from pundits and Democrats alike again calling for investigations and, if warranted, criminal prosecutions. OK, as you might imagine if you’ve been here before, I’m OK with that. The thing that kind of bugs me here is how the politicians and the media play this stuff out. I mean, the list is already a “mile long” on both Dick Cheney and George W Bush. How many of these examples of arrogance toward our legal system and our constitution do we need before people, including our now sitting President, realize that the best way to get this stuff “behind us” is to do the COMPLETE INVESTIGATION and put no “boundaries” on it. All of this, President Obama, IS NOT GOING AWAY – until you put it away! And, through all of this, Friday’s story, which I consider a bit more serious, where it was disclosed that President Bush himself ordered the infamous trip to the hospital bed of John Ashcroft in an attempt to circumvent the Justice department lawyers who were calling Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program what it was (and still is) – UNCONSTITUTIONAL – did get buried – I guess the media has a greater interest in seeing Cheney “swing” than with Bush – and now, at least for the time being, Bush is off the hook (although, if there ever is an investigation, I guarantee you that the “hook” will be a large one.
Keep in mind that President Bush comes from a family that has a long history of ignoring the legal system of America and getting away with it, usually with HUGE profits. His grandfather, most people know this, made a fortune selling materials to Hitler in the thirties that allowed Hitler to build a huge, well armed, army that came close to “taking over the world.” Samuel Bush was reprimmanded by FDR, but never lost a dime of the fortune with any kind of accountability at all – I believe other than maybe a public “tongue lashing.” In fact, I believe Bush’s grandfather from the other side (Walker side) was right in the middle of all that too. Then there’s George HW Bush – Reagan’s VP and the 41st President. He should probably have gone to jail for his role in the Iran/Contra “affair” – as should a lot of other Republicans, but – again – these guys were at the top and they were allowed to walk away “scott free.” A couple of them were convicted (Ollie North was one I believe) – but, naturally, pardoned. They were breaking the law for our government – so it was OK. The Republican party is chock full of operatives who have either served their time or were pardoned and are welcomed back in as heroes (North, Charles Colson, and G. Gordon Liddy to name a few). And, then along comes Bush/Cheney and tops them all – I’m sure fully expecting to get away with their crimes – kind of a family history.
Cheney has been a part of all of the great scandals – Watergate, Iran/Contra, and – of course – Bush/Cheney. The difference to me was the bold and constant arrogance Cheney displayed from the first day he took office with GW. It was like “I’m going to abuse this power, and what the hell are you going to do about it?” I’ll give him this, I’ve never seen a more in your face politician in my lifetime. He must be intimidating in person, although I have to admit I’ve fantacized about getting the opportunity to go “one on one” in a debate with Cheney in front of an audience (not his kind of audience, where everyone has to make a loyalty pledge before getting into the room). Personally, I would not be afraid to call him on some of this stuff – including the 9/11 attacks. This morning I heard Cheney’s new surrogate mouthpiece, his daughter, magnify the “We kept you safe” lie to “He kept us safe for 8 years. Well, I’ve got news for Liz Cheney (Dick’s daughter) it’s still not eight years since the tragedy of the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and Plane in the field of Pennsylvania and, by all accounts, that disaster was preventable – AND BUSH/CHENEY DIDN’T PREVENT IT. No other President in our history has kept us LESS SAFE than that! And, to me, it’s not that he didn’t keep us safe, it’s not that he told the CIA not to tell Congress about this program, it’s not that he seems like the most evil person ever to hold such high office in this country, but it’s all about the Constitution. It’s the Constitution that will still be standing when Cheney/Bush – and me, for that matter – are gone. What our children and grandchildren will be left with is how that document is interpreted. There are already too many “implied powers” in the Constitution thanks to our courts (like “exectutive privilege” and the “States Secrets doctrine”) which seem to purposely leave “grey areas” that are open for interpretation and allow Presidents to “push” boundaries. The last thing I want to leave to my grandchildren is a Constitution that is the work of Dick Cheney! That is why all of this MUST come out, MUST be investigated, and MUST be prosecuted where appropriate!