It's Called Accountability
Posted on
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
by Gary A. Ballard
It's been a long time since the Bush administration was actually acquainted with the reality of accountability for their actions. Since 2002, the Republican/neocon stranglehold on Congressional power has rendered the concept a quaint anachronism which the Bush/Cheney junta can scoff at over their afternoon tea out on the lawn with a hearty Ivy League 'HARRUMPH!' Today's news brings a welcome return to the long-lost concept of checks and balances, and I for one am quite thrilled. You see, the House of Representatives voted to issue subpoenas for Karl Rove and other White House aides, compelling them to testify truthfully under penalty of perjury about their roles in the politically-motivated firings of eight U.S. federal prosecutors.
Not only is it a welcome sign for Congress to send subpoenas to any White House officials on any matter, it's even more satisfying knowing that such actions are a rejection of Bush's orders. President Bush had "offered" these people to the Congress for private interviews with closed-door, unrecorded Congressional committee meetings, interviews which would not require being sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth or any portion of the truth. In other words, interviews which would miss the accountability off-ramp by light-years on the highway of truth.
But ever obstinate in his pursuit of an absolute veil of secrecy about White House activities, Bush has vowed to challenge the subpoenas in court, and I'm quite sure the grounds he'll attempt to use will be that of executive privilege. If he does so, his transformation into Tricky Dick Nixon Part Duh will be complete. Thankfully, though not a lawyer, I'm pretty sure we've been down the executive privilege path before, and the Supreme Court shot it directly in the face. Whether or not this conservative-appointed Supreme Court will agree with the previous precedents on the matter is debatable, but I don't think anyone can argue that the original 1974 decision in United States v. Nixon is the decision we want this land to be ruled by. Sure, there are those wingnut imperial president neocons out there, but I hope those fools have been revealed as the bloodthirsty moonbats they really are.
You see, Mr. Bush, being President does not entitle you to do as you wish with the United States government. No one serves 'at the pleasure of the President,' a too-frequently used phrase that gives me shivers right down to my subcockles. Your political advisor shouldn't have a damn thing to say about what federal prosecutors get to keep their jobs, and the Patriot Act shouldn't allow you to replace prosecutors at will indefinitely without any sort of Congressional oversight. That is what we call accountability, which is being forced to give an account for all the decisions and actions you have made, including the reasons for making them. The founding fathers fought a war to remove us from the boot heel of a power which made decisions that were accountable to no one. Why then would you think, Mr. Bush, that those same founding fathers would want there to be any method in which an elected or appointed official can achieve the same kind of unaccountable behavior?
The answer is they wouldn't, and neither would the American people. If you gave the American people access to the truth, the REAL truth about how you and your administration have conducted their business, and the reasons for the business being conducted, I'm quite sure you'd long wistfully for the days of 36% approval ratings. Or do you truly wish to drag the Executive Branch back to the depths it plumbed during the worst years of Nixon's presidency? You've already followed his game plan to disgustingly similar results. I shudder to think what more damage you could do to this great nation and the world without this healthy dose of accountability.
Not only is it a welcome sign for Congress to send subpoenas to any White House officials on any matter, it's even more satisfying knowing that such actions are a rejection of Bush's orders. President Bush had "offered" these people to the Congress for private interviews with closed-door, unrecorded Congressional committee meetings, interviews which would not require being sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth or any portion of the truth. In other words, interviews which would miss the accountability off-ramp by light-years on the highway of truth.
But ever obstinate in his pursuit of an absolute veil of secrecy about White House activities, Bush has vowed to challenge the subpoenas in court, and I'm quite sure the grounds he'll attempt to use will be that of executive privilege. If he does so, his transformation into Tricky Dick Nixon Part Duh will be complete. Thankfully, though not a lawyer, I'm pretty sure we've been down the executive privilege path before, and the Supreme Court shot it directly in the face. Whether or not this conservative-appointed Supreme Court will agree with the previous precedents on the matter is debatable, but I don't think anyone can argue that the original 1974 decision in United States v. Nixon is the decision we want this land to be ruled by. Sure, there are those wingnut imperial president neocons out there, but I hope those fools have been revealed as the bloodthirsty moonbats they really are.
You see, Mr. Bush, being President does not entitle you to do as you wish with the United States government. No one serves 'at the pleasure of the President,' a too-frequently used phrase that gives me shivers right down to my subcockles. Your political advisor shouldn't have a damn thing to say about what federal prosecutors get to keep their jobs, and the Patriot Act shouldn't allow you to replace prosecutors at will indefinitely without any sort of Congressional oversight. That is what we call accountability, which is being forced to give an account for all the decisions and actions you have made, including the reasons for making them. The founding fathers fought a war to remove us from the boot heel of a power which made decisions that were accountable to no one. Why then would you think, Mr. Bush, that those same founding fathers would want there to be any method in which an elected or appointed official can achieve the same kind of unaccountable behavior?
The answer is they wouldn't, and neither would the American people. If you gave the American people access to the truth, the REAL truth about how you and your administration have conducted their business, and the reasons for the business being conducted, I'm quite sure you'd long wistfully for the days of 36% approval ratings. Or do you truly wish to drag the Executive Branch back to the depths it plumbed during the worst years of Nixon's presidency? You've already followed his game plan to disgustingly similar results. I shudder to think what more damage you could do to this great nation and the world without this healthy dose of accountability.
Labels: Bush Administration, Government Corruption, Politics
posted by Gary A. Ballard @ 3:28 PM
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