The great genius of the founding fathers, their revolutionary idea, [was that] the chief mission of the state is to make you and them free to pursue their ambitions and faculties. Not to build empires, not to aggrandize government. That's the mission of the state, to make them free, to think, to chart their own destiny. And the burden is on government to give really good explanations as to why they're taking these extraordinary measures. And on that score, Bush has flunked on every single occasion. And we need to get the American people to think. Every time that there's an incursion on freedom, they have to demand why. What is the explanation? Give me a good reason before I give up my freedom.The transcript is here.
Fein also wrote an article on Slate to explain how Congress should go about breaking the administration's preposterous stance with regard to prohibiting former WH staffers from testifying before Congress. The administration's assertion of privilege in this matter is so broad as to permit the president to, quite literally, prohibit any staffer from testifying before Congress on any matter whatsoever, ever.
In this connection, here's what I want to know, and this is meant as a real question, rather than a rhetorical one: do Republicans in congress not realize that at some time in the future (probably sooner rather than later) there will be a Democrat in the White House, and that at some point Congress may well want to investigate certain matters concerning that Democrat's administration, and that as part of that investigation they may want to subpoena the testimony of WH staffers, and that that WH may then, in accordance with the clear precedent being set in this case, prohibit such staffers from testifying or cooperating with such investigation in any meaningful way whatsoever?
And when I say this is meant as a serious question, I mean these people aren't stupid. How can they not have any realization of this? And if they do, why in the world are they going along with it? What possible reason could they have? I guess that is really my question. It seems incredibly short-sighted. And -- leaving aside all political and party considerations of any kind -- it is incredibly harmful to our democracy.
3 comments:
You're right, it IS incredibly harmful to our democracy, no matter who's doing it -- it essentially cancels out all accountability to the people.
The thing is, these guys think they're going to be in power forever -- "permanent Republican majority," doncha know. The elections last November, the 26% approval rating, the polls showing the American people's opposition to nearly everything they're doing -- they think none of it matters. It's an astonishing delusion, unless you consider that they may have an even more astonishing plan for getting around elections, period -- and THAT'S even scarier.
What if they ARE in power forever? I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but Glee has a point. They have wiggled around one election already.
I've been shrieking about this but no one is listening. Some very scary shit is going down and it seems that "they" could be gearing up for something.
Even Paul Criag Roberts who was in the Reagan Administration is alarmed. He wrote this:
Impeach Now Or Face the End of Constitutional Democracy
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