It will be interesting to see if the passing of the DADT repeal squelches all the disdain from the “left” aimed at President Obama.  To me, the next two years should be extremely interesting, if nothing else.  I took a quick peek at Paul Krugman’s blog today and got a glimpse at several issues, which are upcoming, and which continue my sense of “pause.”  Additionally, I just finished a book on the first 100 days of the Roosevelt administration during the Great Depression and it made me “long” for courageous leadership all the more.  The really interesting thing in reading that book was the parallels to what is happening today.  In my previous post I was reminded of the saying “Those who choose to ingnore history are destined to repeat it,” and repeating history is what contemporary politics feels like.  As far as President Obama is concerned, I really don’t know what to think.

 I stated in my last posting that I don’t believe I could vote for him again.  Then last evening I was pondering on the FACT that when Bill Clinton (another republican-lite democrat, in my view) left office – despite the repeal of Glass-Steagall, despite the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (which opened the door to the right wing takeover of the media), and despite the trade agreements such as NAFTA, there was a budget surplus of a quarter of a BILLION dollars/year with projections that our deficit could be wiped out in something like 10 years.  The US Supreme Court changed all that when they chose George W Bush as president in 2000.  The ensuing damage can’t be underestimated – it was HUGE!  Honestly, I’m still at a loss trying to figure out how “we the people” could allow our courts to decide who the president is – but, its now “water under the bridge.”  The question continually coming to my mind in my disenchantment with democrats is “what is the alternative?”

If you’re reading this I know you understand the Bush/Cheney “damage,” and the democratic “alternative” but, I’m going to relist some of it, just to make myself feel better and refresh my own memory as I draw out my thoughts for this evening (Plus, I firmly believe that people should be reminded of the REAL republican agenda as often as possible, because it appears to me there are a lot of Americans suffering from amnesia.  One of the things which “bugs” me the most about republicans is the right wing media either ignoring history or revising it – to the point where they’re again convincing America’s vulnerable voters that tax cuts create jobs and “deficits don’t matter”) Let’s start with the tax cuts.  Of course, this is still a raw spot for me – and, as stated in my last posting – possibly the final straw in my disappointment with Bush’s successor – whom I supported vigorously – when Obama “compromised” to extend them.  So, instead of something approaching a minimal deficit we’re looking at a MAJOR BATTLE over increasing the debt limit (in a couple of months) above FOURTEEN TRILLION DOLLARS and a possible stealth attack on Social Security! Ouchee!  And, I just have to slip this in – I believe this battle is going to lead to even more BAD “compromises” by President Obama.  Not only did the Bush administration push through massive tax cuts RIGHT OFF THE BAT after taking over the White House in 2001, but, they did it again a couple years later when Dick Cheney made one of his infamous quotes, “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter.”  Somehow, ALL the republicans who went along with him then are now “singing” a different tune. (The deficit “matters” except when it comes to tax cuts!)

Of course, there’s a lot more.  Iraq and Afganistan are probably exponentially worse “sore spots” for me as I look back on the Bush administration (and now the Obama administration – if you want to try to understand why we’re probably going to be in both places indefinitely read Andrew Bacevich’s “Washington Rules” and Thomas Ricks “The Gamble”).  George W Bush envisioned himself as the “War President” – and, I believe it’s safe to say he was the WORST “War President” in the history of this great nation.  Talk about your deja vu’s all over again – that would be BOTH Iraq and Afganistan.  What’s worse for me in all of this, BOTH Bush and Cheney used their status and knowledge of the “system” to avoid service during the Viet Nam war – which was the Iraq or Afganistan of their era.  Neither one had the GUTS to fight in that war, but they didn’t hesitate to send thousands of young Americans to their deaths or dismemberment in these two senseless US adventures.  Yes, Afganistan was justified up to the point where Bush/Cheney proved that it was nothing more than a reason to invade Iraq (when they let bin Laden go) which they had been contemplating for several years prior to Bush moving into the White House.  Read Naomi Klein’s “Shock Doctrine” if you’d like to understand the twisted logic Bush/Cheney were relying on to “open the door” to their adventure in Iraq. 

Just try to imagine how different EVERYTHING in America would be right now had Bush/Cheney simply OK’d the capture of Osama bin Laden at Tora Bora within months of invading Afganistan and then bringing America’s troops home.  Of course, people like Cheney, Rumsfeld, Feith, and all the others who made HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars profiting from America’s folly in Iraq would not be too happy, but just think how much more “safe” America would be right now.  Instead, we have become the flashpoint recruiting tool of Al Qaeda and every other radical terrorist organization in the world, we empowered Iran, and we’ve basically turned the entire world against the United States.  Instead of making us more safe, Bush’s “war on terror” has made America EXTREMELY more vulnerable, is leading us toward national insolvency, and has spread our military so thin that should an actual emergency arise we could be in BIG TROUBLE.  Are we going to continue to rely on members of our armed services who’ve been deployed upwards of 7 or 8 – or more in some cases – times in the past 10 years to “keep us safe.”  Have you ever wondered how many of America’s troops – who are actively and dutifully following the orders of our GUTLESS civilian leaders – have PTSD?  I mean, how many times can you deploy to Iraq or Afgansistan without having MAJOR issues?  And, where is our so-called “liberal media” on all of this?  We hear virtually NOTHING regarding these two occupations anymore – as if they don’t exist.  Evidently, TAX CUTS are of more significance!

The saying FDR was probably most famous for was “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.”  Well, the United States’ politicians have been exploiting fear for as long as I can remember, but since 9/11 – it’s been off the charts.  And, what is the result?  For starters, you’ve got the “Patriot Act” which opened the doors to surveillance abuses by Bush/Cheney et al and to Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and other rendition facilities which let to the blatant TORTURE authorized by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others in their administration.  I’ll never forget watching C-SPAN during the congressional testimony of John Yoo, the Bush lawyer who enabled TORTURE to be “legal,” when he responded to the question “Would burying someone alive and then digging them up be torture?” by saying, “it depends on the circumstances and whether or not they die.”  I couldn’t believe what I had heard, but after researching what was really going on in the name of my country, I realized this Yoo guy had a lot of influence on the destruction of America’s traditional values (I’m not so naive to think that the CIA hadn’t been involved in torture for years – and, I’m sure that’s the reason for the coverup of what happend at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and elsewhere – but, just the same, it’s all “chilling”).  Somehow, I got the feeling that Bush, Cheney and the others – when learning that Khalid Sheik Mohammed was claustraphobic and afraid of bugs – felt that, after waterboarding him 183, times putting him in a “mini” sized casket filled with ants and bugs was sufficient retribution for 9/11.  So much, I guess, for the country I love, standing tall for the protection of human rights.  Bush/Cheney even went so far as to attempt a repeal of one of the most basic of human rights guarantees, Habeous Corpus. 

Bush and Cheney both admitted to warrantlessly wiretapping American citizens – and, the presumption is that it was done MANY times – but, of course, Obama in all his wisdom chose to “look forward instead of back” – so blatant felonious violations of the FISA law and our fourth amendment right to privacy have been compromised in the name of “keeping us safe.”  When Bush/Cheney were “called” on this illegal behavior they simply abused the “States Secrets Privilege” to prevent any court from investigating their wrongdoing and they lobbied congress (with Obama’s help, by the way) to indemnify the telecommunications companies who were complicit in their warrantless wiretaps.  When anyone objects to this illegal activity, those in charge (including Obama) pull out the “fear card.”  Now, we’ve gone so far as to enable Bush’s head of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, to make HIS major windfall by requiring x-ray machines at airports (of course, he’s the middleman collecting the “commission”) which will make sure you have absolutely NO secrets from the officials manning the screen.  We’ve traded our privacy for their profits based on fear – and, of course, a continued American military presence in virtually every location in the world.

I’m still angry about Dick Cheney walking away “scott free” after “outing a CIA agent.”  Presonally, I considered that one treason.  This man comes after those who “cross” him – in this case, it was the husband of a covert CIA agent – who was leading the secret investigation of Iran’s nuclear capability by the way – VICIOUSLY!  Joe Wilson (the husband) simply told the truth about a phony document claiming Sadam Hussein had purchased 500 tons of yellow cake uranium from Niger, a tiny African nation which Wilson had previously been an ambassador to and still had enough connections with to verify whether or not the claim was true (Bush/Cheney used this lie to imply Hussein had a nuclear program that endangered America – the infamous “mushroom cloud”).  The irony is that Wilson was sent to Niger at the request of someone coming from the Vice President’s office.  Evidently, they didn’t want him to make a report unless it coincided with the twisted logic Cheney was using to justify the invasion of Iraq.  The truth is that once 9/11 happened there was no way to stop the Bush/Cheney administration from invading Iraq.

The legacy of Bush/Cheney (along with Reagan and Bush the first) when it comes to the Justice Department is disgusting as well.  I’ve said this many times on this site that if the American people ever lose faith in the fairness of the Justice Department we are on our way to chaos.  During the Bush/Cheney regime new hires at the Justice Department were required to take loyalty oaths to the republican party – HIGHLY ILLEGAL – yet, never prosecuted.  Karl Rove, and others associated with the White House, were allowed to make republican propaganda presentations to various departments in our government, clear violations of law, without consequence.  Alberto Gonzales, the Attorney General himself, took the oath before congress and proceeded to perjure himself OVER and OVER again – likewise, without consequence.  Bush appointees on several occasions simply refused to answer subpoenas to congress – AGAIN with NO consequence – all of this, to me, very disgusting and undermining the premise that the United States is a “nation of laws and not men.”  This was all bad enough, but soon after President Obama took over it became clear that he also had no will to hold the lawbreakers of the Bush/Cheney administration to account for their actions – including Bush and Cheney themselves –  both of whom should have been impeached!  Obama apparently believes Nixon’s claim that “if the president does it, it must be legal.”  A GREAT hard earned victory won after Watergate was essentially thrown out the window with one CURIOUS decision by Barack Obama.

There’s more!  Getting back to my point about the Supreme Court choosing Bush/Cheney in the first place, here comes the rub as I ponder my EXTREME disappointment in President Obama.  The truth is that not all is bad – despite my disappointment in his pandering to the republican thugs – he did make two Supreme Court choices which I found extremely positive.  And, I think that when 2012 comes around, no matter how bad things are in the economy, or even if the two Bush (now Obama) wars are continuing – which I believe will be the case (I hope I’m wrong) – the difference between the Obama choices for the Supreme Court and anything a republican might choose would be strataspheric!  George W Bush chose both John Roberts and Sam Alito – and the result was “Citizens United” – in my mind, the worst Supreme Court decision of my lifetime.  If we end up with some kind of fascist corporatocracy – Citizens United will be the reason why and you can put it on the “lap” of Roberts and Alito – both of whom contradicted their confirmation testimony in making that decision.  And, there will be more nominations in the next six years – most probably for what’s left of the “liberal” side of the court.  If the republicans get a couple more “Alito’s” on that court – progressives in this country are SCREWED for a generation at least.  So, in my major disappointment with Obama – and my sense that I must keep reminding people about the misdeeds of the Bush administration so that the right wing media does not get away with “rewriting” history – practically speaking, it is likely that the only option to prevent a further deterioration of the Supreme Court in 2012 will be a vote for President Obama!

These past few days (the “lame duck” session of 2010) have been somewhat encouraging.  It actually felt as if Harry Reid was showing some spine as he forced the republicans to stay in session until they dealt with the 9/11 first responders legislation (which, in itself – their opposition to this – should render them as unworthy of governing in this nation – but, I guess, that’s a story for another evening) and the START treaty – which was equally as difficult to understand why republicans would oppose something so fundamental to our national security.  Listening to John Kyl complain about Reid “ruining his Christmas” was heartwarming to me – made me wonder if Kyl ever wonders how many Christmas’s he and his colleagues have ruined.  I hope that is a sign of things to come – I don’t really expect much in the next two years, but it would be nice to see democrats forcing the republicans to openly vote for or against policy which is supported by “we the people.”  If you remember, the “public option” had the support of 75% of the American public, but was never brought to a vote in the Senate – in my mind, the government should have STOPPED until that vote was publicly taken – let them have a real filibuster! 

I’m going to end this by saying I ABSOLUTELY don’t trust ANY republicans in congress (with the possible exception of Ron Paul – who I simply disagree with on many fronts) and, I’m nervous about Obama’s willingness to “cave”on important issues.  I see a full out attack on Social Security on the horizon (by republicans) – and, I hope to see the Harry Reid of the past couple weeks as opposed to the Harry Reid of the past two years (Reid is going to be a marked man now that the House is controlled by republicans) – otherwise this bastion of the Great American Middle Class could be in danger.  Remember, the republicans have been on a 70 year mission to dismantle the New Deal – and, they’re slowly and surely making progress.  They think much farther into the future than democrats.  I firmly believe they have their sights set on Social Security and Medicare – this tax cut deal was the most significant step in TOTALLY undermining the funding for the programs.  If the democrats don’t begin FIGHTING back in these next two years the republicans will succeed in their “mission.”  They HATE any social safety net unless it protects their big business interests.  I’ve said this many times – the real war being fought in America is right here at home and it’s for the heart and soul of this country.  I truly hope the few successes of the past two weeks don’t lull the democrats into a false sense of goodwill – because the republicans real goal still lies ahead!