When journalists are caught lying outright, they can be fired, and can even find their careers terminated. Take Janet Cooke, the Washington Post reporter who made up a story about a young drug user. A decade after her firing, she was earning $6/hour as a Liz Claiborne clerk in a department store. Or consider Stephen Glass, who famously made up stories at the New Republic. He landed on his feet as a fiction writer, but his journalism days are over.
So what to do about George Bush and his gang of fabulists, who now, thanks to a study by the Center for Public Integrity and the Fund for Independence in Journalism, stand shown to have lied to Congress and the American people 935 times in what the two organizations say was “part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."
Clearly we’ve come a long way from that first President named George who, at least in popular mythology, “couldn’t tell a lie.”
And while it is a given in American political life that “politicians lie,” we’re talking here about some whoppers that weren’t just about self-promotion, like Hillary Clinton’s claims that she was involved in all of the major decisions in Bill Clinton’s White House, or Obama’s claim that he has always opposed the war in Iraq, or John McCain’s claim that he is a “straight talker.” We’re talking about lies that led to the US violating international law by invading a country that posed no imminent threat, lies that have led to the needless and pointless deaths of some 4000 American military personnel and to the maiming of nearly 80,000 others, lies that have left a nation of 34 million in ruins, with 4 million refugees, 1 million dead, and political chaos that is perhaps irremediable. We’re talking about lies that have cost the US upwards of $2 trillion in actual military outlays and future debt payments. Lies that have cast the US in the role of pariah nation and terrorist state in the eyes of the rest of the world.
The idea that Americans would be willing to impeach a president for lying about a sexual act, or that they would reject a candidate for plagiarizing part of a speech, but that they would then simply shrug at hard evidence that a president, along with his vice president, secretary of state, defense secretary and national security adviser had all lied in a conscious, coordinated conspiracy to trick them into a disastrous war is hard to believe.
At this point, we should have hordes of people pressing on the iron fences of the White House, armed with pitchforks, baseball bats and cattle prods, ready to storm the place and wreak vengeance. Where are the angry relatives of dead and maimed soldiers? Where are the idealistic students? Where are the taxpayers who’ve been robbed blind? Where’s the outraged Congress? Where are the incensed editorialists in the media?
Hey! Wake up! This is a goddamned outrage?
We all knew it, of course, but until now, thanks to a news media that has long since stopped reporting on serious issues, particularly where it involves criticism of the powerful, we could hide behind the belief that it was all “business as usual” in Washington, a truth-challenged city to be sure.
But now we know. Now there is no hiding from the truth. Now we have it documented and quantified in a way that makes the enormity of the offense clear and undeniable.
Now we are required to take action.
No editorial writer worthy of the name can ignore this scandal. No member of Congress can ignore this affront to the Constitution. No citizen can ignore this abuse.
There is only one appropriate response to the crime that has been documented here by the Center for Public Integrity and the Fund for Independence in Journalism, and that is impeachment. We have the crime laid out before us. We have the evidence in hand. It is now the obligation of the House to hold an impeachment hearing in which that evidence will be put before the members. After that, there must be a vote on an article of impeachment, against Bush, Cheney, Rice, Powell and Rumsfeld, for lying to the American people.
No president, no vice president, no senior cabinet officer, can be permitted to commit a treasonous act as serious as lying the nation into a needless war, and be permitted to remain in office. To allow such treachery to go unchallenged is to tell all future administrations that truth and openness have no place in American government. To allow this crime to pass is to declare that democracy in America is moribund, for the people can only be sovereign as long as they are given the truth about what their government and their leaders are doing.
No member of Congress who sits idly by and refuses to call these lying leaders to account deserves reelection.
A government based upon lies is by definition a dictatorship.
Dave Lindorff, a columnist for Counterpunch, is author of several recent books ("This Can't Be Happening! Resisting the Disintegration of American Democracy" and "Killing Time: An Investigation into the Death Penalty Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal"). His latest book, coauthored with Barbara Olshanshky, is "The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office (St. Martin's Press, May 2006). His writing is available at http://www.thiscantbehappening.net
But the key is that the House initiates impeachment, and I'd say no member of congress who fails to endorse impeachment hearings doesn't deserve reelection.
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Dave Lindorff (301 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 143 comments)
on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 at 2:04:43 PM
Does anyone know if there is a way to impeach/remove/recall or otherwise fire senators or representatives if they won't follow the will of the people (without having to wait for elections)
?
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George Washington (62 articles, 17 quicklinks, 99 diaries, 161 comments)
on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 at 2:11:29 PM
WE HAVE NEVER SEEN AN ADMINISTRATION, PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT, ADVISORS, LOBBYISTS IN CONGRESS, THE MEDIA OR ATTY GENERALS WITH THIS LEVEL OF CRIMINAL CONDUCT, HIGH CRIMES, CRIMINAL COVERUP, OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, PROPAGANDA & THE HARMING OF OUR COUNTRY. EVER
At this point, we should have hordes of people pressing on the iron fences of the White House, armed with pitchforks, baseball bats and cattle prods, ready to storm the place and wreak vengeance. Where are the angry relatives of dead and maimed soldiers? Where are the idealistic students? Where are the taxpayers who’ve been robbed blind? Where’s the outraged Congress? Where are the incensed editorialists in the media?
Has democracy become too complicated and too much like hard work for contemporary Americans? In 1940 Joe Kennedy said "Democracy is finished". Perhaps he was just premature.
Pitchfolks aren't used any more. Not only are the tools gone but so too are the vast numbers of independent self reliant farmers that weilded them.
The families of the dead and maimed soldiers are relatively few (compared to Vietnam) and widely dispersed. The idealistic students don't have the threat of being drafted to invigorate their idealism.
I think that what we are seeing in America is that citizens, American citizens in this case, are simply unwilling in sufficient numbers to shoulder the adult burden of citizenship. Laws can't enforce themselves. Oaths taken aren't going to be upheld if citizens don't demand it.
I don't think Americans are unlikely to be different to the rest of the world in that they will not on average go to a great deal of trouble or bother themselves with outrage until it comes closer to them personally.
Perhaps saddly terrorism and asymmetric warfare may be necessary parts of human progress at this point in history because in a world of nations the only things that the citizens of those individual nations will clamour for in sufficient numbers is their own short term interests and so those will be the only interests that their representatives will represent.
With the United States of America perhaps we are seeing the end of democratic nationhood where the citizen is empowered with freedom of speach and association. Perhaps national democracies can't stand separately as nations in the world anymore than the ancient Greek city could.
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Brett Paatsch (0 articles, 2 quicklinks, 17 diaries, 784 comments)
on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 at 7:34:05 PM
democrats like Pelosi there will be no impeachment
today you live by the sword your govts. have ruined your backbone Industries by allowing unfair trade practices
now you live by the sword and the Industrially war complex is your backbone
756 bases around the world
economy in collapse all around you
inflation will be running rampant this year eating away your pensions
the dollar in free fall
war is your backbone Industry because the same people that buried your traditional back bone industrials like auto manufacturing are the ones that own the war industrials
so cunning they are
they have you where they want you
one event from marshal law , Black water and North American Union
the only way to change this nation. It will take a revolution a Ron Paul revolution but people have not seen the light of day .
America you are at your sunset
weep weep weep
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dave stanley (5 articles, 1 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 286 comments)
on Thursday, January 24, 2008 at 2:07:33 AM
William Jefferson Clinton told one lie and was impeached! George Walker Bush told 935 lies and Congress shoves it's head deeper in the Potomac! Something does not compute! I think this should require a complete investigation of both the administration and Congress. But who are we going to get to do this? Can the govenors of all 50 states get together and appoint an honorable committee to carry this out with the required authority? Is there a virgin and three wisemen left in this country?(for those this offends I apologize) We certainly cannot trust either the Supreme Court or the Attorney Generals Office. Even voting out all incumbents will be too late to do any good. I don't suppose the Superfriends or the Ghostbusters really exist do they? At what level of our corrupt government can we trust to find an honest qualified group to carry out this most needed inquirey? Maybe a group of comedians such as Lewis Black, Dennis Leary, Robin Williams, Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Steve Colbert could be sworn in and administer the proper investigation and justice. They do seem to be some of the most aware folks in this country as to what has been going on and they would be entertaining. I suppose a lynch mob would be frowned upon. Anyone else have a great idea on how to investigate and incarcerate all the miscreants we have residing within our government? We need help!
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Hayesml47 (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 294 comments)
on Thursday, January 24, 2008 at 8:42:39 AM
The lies that are documented are only the tip of the iceberg
There are uncounted thousands of lies from this administration in support of the 935 that have been documented. These lies are both articulated and tacit.
As one example, there is the maintenance of an "all volunteer" Army, where the force is overextended and fraying at the seams to the point where it endangers a ligitimate defense of the Republic. The reason for this is that the administration understands that the people will beef about only what affects them as individuals. Initiating a draft to ease the strain on the armed forces would so affect a great number of people who would then be disinclined to entertain themselves with consumerism instead of resisting their government.
Another example is the press blackout (with the acquiescence of the press) on imagery of our lost soldiers retuning from Iraq, and twisted counting rules on the published figures of how many we have lost. The injured are similarly treated to keep the people in the dark.
The standing order is, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" And as most of us nod in agreement, we go about our shopping chores.
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John Sanchez Jr. (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 6 diaries, 903 comments)
on Thursday, January 24, 2008 at 9:04:02 AM
Have a liars court made up of a rotating group of jurists. Each lie brought to the attention of the court demands an appearance. People are exposed to about 3000 lies every day, but that number should drop quickly because people are natually mean and sadistic.
If a liar is found guilty, he will be chained to a nearby lamp post for a morning or afternoon and forced to wear an appropriate sign and a funny hat. Then he must be forced to spend a day in community service telling everyone the story of his lie. Lie of ommission will be hard to deal with, but not impossible. The penalty for trying con the court will be double.
No prisons, no lawyers.
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John Hanks (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 869 comments)
on Thursday, January 24, 2008 at 12:51:12 PM
