Other countries wind up under the heel of authoritarian rulers, but it happens often enough in those nations and regions that they know what to expect and sometimes how to oppose or otherwise get around the worst policies of those harsh governments. When authoritarians take over in so-called "civilized" countries, the citizens, raised on democratic traditions and trained to behave civily, often are bereft of effective strategies for dealing with get-out-of-our-way-or-else leaders who play by their own rules.
Take Germany in the 1930s, for example. Even though Hitler had written a book outlining his extremist philosophy, few paid attention to that little creep and his bullyboy followers. When he assumed the reins of power, Hitler slowly begin slicing away at freedoms, starting with the most vulnerable, marginal elements in society -- those with mental and physical defects, Communists, Jews, trade union leaders, et al. Since so few objected to the maltreatment of these weak groups, he set out after bigger game, including religious leaders and political opponents. In addition, Hitler, a megalomaniac, began unnecessarily attacking neighboring countries, both for imperial conquest and to rally the population to his side during wartime.
Huge segments of the German population, hungry for decisive leadership during a time of uncertainty and chaos, and easily bamboozled by the regime's propaganda ministry that had control of all means of mass-media, fell into line behind Hitler and his Nazi party. Other segments of the citizenry came to be aware that the Fuhrer's policies likely would result in taking the country down the road to catastrophic ruin, but they hadn't organized early enough to be effective. By that time they were starting to think in oppositional terms, they had few ways to fight the fascist dictatorship under which they lived, and many soon found themselves in Hitler's concentration camps and crematoria.
Please don't misunderstand. I'm not saying that CheneyBush's America is Hitler's Germany. But wise citizens try to learn from history ( www.crisispapers.org/Editorials/germany-1933.htm ) to avoid making similar mistakes that could turn out disastrously.
"COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVES" -- NOT
Unlike Hitler, neither Bush nor Cheney let the American public know what they planned to do if they got their hands on the levers of power. They disguised themselves as "compassionate conservatives" -- remember that handy little term? -- during the 2000 election. Bush talked of the "humble" foreign policy he would initiate, and said that "nation-building" would not be part of American behavior abroad. He spoke of their devotion to "small government" and to "protecting" citizens' rights from a Big Brother federal behemoth.
Then, even though Bush had lost the popular vote and with ballots still out there needing re-counting, they were installed into the White House by a conservative majority on the Supeme Court and began working behind the scenes to carry out their real agenda. At the very first Cabinet meetings, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill later told us, Cheney and Bush and Rumsfeld were discussing plans for attacking Iraq, a country that was incapable of, and uninterested in, doing physical harm to the United States. In addition, also long before the horrific events of 9/11, CheneyBush were authorizing widespread domestic spying on U.S. citizens.
If a Democrat or a traditional Republican had been placed in power by similar circumstances, that leader would have realized how divided the country was and would have treaded lightly, trying to finesse their agenda through Congress in a bipartisan way. But the philosophy behind the CheneyBush approach, as devised by political guru Karl Rove, was that it didn't matter how they got into power or how close the election was. The point, Rove indicated, was that as long as they had control of the reins of power and had a majority of one, they should behave as if they had a "mandate" to rule as they saw fit.
The corollary, and this is where it gets interesting, was that they should act ruthlessly toward their political opponents. Instead of seeking bipartisan cooperation, they would play smash-mouth, take-no-prisoners politics, the aim being to marginalize or, if possible, destroy the Democrats as a viable opposition and create the conditions for several generations of one-party Republican rule.
THE "OPPORTUNITY" OFFERRED BY 9/11
And then came 9/11. Neoconservatives had salivated at the prospect of a "new Pearl Harbor" ( www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf ) (page 51 ) as a cover for their political revolution, and now it had arrived. CheneyBush had been forewarned in advance by numerous countries' leaders that a "spectacular" attack was coming from al-Qaida, probably by air and aimed at American icon targets, but the Administration chose to do nothing. Afterwards, they talked to their colleagues about taking advantage of the new "opportunity" (to use Condi Rice's term at the time) that 9/11 offerred to push their agenda. "9/11" became the umbrella excuse that we citizens were told justified every controversial Administration action.
The Democrats, already fairly weak, disorganized and indecisive, never knew what hit them. They thought that the new Administration would behave in the time-tested Washington way of traditional give-and-take, compromising, small-step governance. They had no idea how to combat an Administration that wanted all power in its hands, and would lie and cheat and steal their way to get what they wanted. The Republicans in Congress, so happy to be in the majority, with all the perqs that go with that lofty position, blindly supported Cheney and Bush, even when the White House was turning Congress into an irrelevancy.
Internationally, CheneyBush's control of the government meant being eager and willing to use their lone-superpower might to attack potential foes with so-called "pre-emptive" wars. Since there was no other superpower to oppose them, they figured it would be easy to take what they could get, re-order the world in America's imperial image and to meet America's needs, and slap down anybody else, even traditional allies and international organizations, that got in their way. Hence, ignoring the United Nations, some of their key friends abroad, and the ten million protesters marching in the streets, CheneyBushRumsfeld launched their unprovoked invasion and disastrous occupation of Iraq.
Domestically, CheneyBush's governing philosophy required that all police and intelligence power move into the hands of the president, the "unitary executive": secret courts, torture prisons, black bag jobs, sneak-and-peek invasions of citizens' privacy, invasions of their computers and emails and telephone calls, and so on -- all were part of this obsession with full control. The courts would be packed with far-right Federalist Society judges; Congress, at best, would be consulted but would have no power to stop White House actions.
And, if by chance Congress passed a law CheneyBush didn't like, Bush issued "Signing Statements" that said he wouldn't enforce parts of the law he didn'tlike. If Congress subpoenaed his aides for testimony or documents, Bush refused to comply.
Bernard Weiner, Ph.D. in government & international relations, has taught at universities in California and Washington, worked for two decades as a writer-editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, and currently serves as co-editor of The Crisis Papers (www.crisispapers.org).
Must Read (
Well Said (
News (
Touching (
Funny (
Supported (
Interesting (
Inspiring (
Valuable (
