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January 3, 2008 at 20:58:48
Obama and Clinton cozy up to Bush by Mark Crispin Miller (Posted by Josh Mitteldorf) Page 1 of 1 page(s) |
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On the stump in Iowa, both Clinton and Obama have done lots of solemn nattering bout "bipartisan" cooperation, "reaching out," etc. Here Bob Parry, one of our best journalists, discusses Hillary's intention to send her husband and old Poppy Bush off n "a worldwide fence-mending tour"--a signal that the Busheviki don't have anything to fear once Hillary is president.
Parry puts this warm hint in the larger context of Bill Clinton's unforgivable decision, ack when he was first elected, not to mount inquiries into Iran-contra and Iraqgate remember that?) and whatever other high crimes Bush the Elder helped pull off. lthough Clinton had a rationale for it (and also may have struck some sort of deal with Bush), his failure to pursue those scandals was a major abdication of his duty to defend and protect the Constitution. It was also a strategic blunder that has ultimately put us all at risk, since that Bush should have gone to jail, in which case his appalling son would not now be, or seem to be, our president. (And if Clinton did cut such a deal with Bush, a fat lot of good it did him in the end.)
So here is Hillary blowing kisses at the Bushes; and, meanwhile, Barack Obama too keeps loftily pooh-poohing "partisan" behavior. In his big summary speech in Iowa the other day, while going on and on and on about the "change" that he eeps saying he represents, he said that "it's change that won't just come from ore anger at Washington, or turning up the heat on Republicans." With his aze, as ever, nobly fixed on some bright galaxy far, far away, he added: There's no shortage of anger and bluster and bitter partisanship out there. We don't need more heat. We need more light."
Now, I'm as keen on civilized relations as the next man; but if the next man
is a fascist, it would be foolish to expect him to reciprocate. And if that fascist
and his goons have broken laws, they should be prosecuted, not embraced.
We certainly do "need more light"--and we will not be getting it without
the sort of serious investigation(s) that the Clintons and Barack Obama have
ruled out. If that means "turning up the heat on Republicans," then we should efinitely bring it on.
One reason why there's such intense "anger at Washington" is that the Democrats ave passively colluded with the Bush Republicans, and let the latter get away ith murder (among other things). Anger is, in any case, a perfectly appropriate esponse to such betrayal. Anyone who has the gall to scold us for such righteous ndignation has no right to call himself a Democrat or a Republican.
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and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
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Obama and Clinton Cozy up to Bush
Josh: I don't believe Obama has said he is against accountability, EVER! What he has said is that to make progress anywhere in politics you must build consensus. That consensus requires cooperation with others, regardless of their party affiliation. I find Democrats want to punish Republicans who abused their elected positions. Let the people do that at the polls, and let elected officials work together to address the peoples business. I would much rather elected officials spend their time working out reasonable budgets, making sure government systems work effectively and efficiently and hold appointed officials accountable. We want a government that works again. We want a government that is responsive to our needs and the needs of the people of the US. I would like George Bush and Cheney impeached. I don't know if that is going to happen before they leave office. After they leave, open records should allow the public to learn the truth about their actions. I hope the next president allows those records to be released so we know and can prevent this from ever happening again. Going after them after they are out of office is pretty pointless. Open records will shed light on others who colluded with them and should be removed from government jobs. Don't turn 2009-2012 into a witch hunt of Dems against Repubs, that power struggle in Washington doesn't serve anyones interests. It is not about getting even, it is about making government work and making it accountable again. by Peter Wedlund (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 211 comments [7 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Jan 4, 2008 at 11:01:25 AM  (0+)
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Reply: should D's compromise with R's?
Peter- I was a conduit for these articles by Mark Crispin Miller and Bob Parry. I didn't write the articles, but I do agree with the sentiment. I think that Republicans have consciously gone about subverting the American political system over the last 20 years. As they have done so, they have sunk ever deeper into criminal activity, so that the harsh brand of politics that they have created has become a necessary shield to keep them out of jail. Many of the Bush crimes have been shockingly bloody and murderous. But it is the crimes against truth that have made all this possible, and shielded them from accountability. A fundamental task of the next administration must be undoing government secrecy, and re-establishing some grounding in physical reality. I agree with you, Peter, that whether or not Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz go to jail is secondary; but trying them for their crimes might be an effective way to slowly educate the public and restore some reality tests. There are lies that the Administration didn't wholly get away with: I trust you haven't been taken in by these. But there are lies that the US news media won't touch, and I don't know where you stand on these: I answer 'no' to all of these; but if you disagree, I ask you to at least begin from the realization that all we assume about these events comes from information provided by the Bush Administration. Given what we now know about their mendacity, it is appropriate to ask all these questions with fresh investigations. --------- Compromising with the Bush Administration while it deceives and manipulates has been very costly for the Democrats' credibility. Many are complicit in the disastrous Iraq war, in the normalization of torture, and in the subversion of constitutional liberties via the Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act. They have even become complicit in the system that robs them of electoral power, adopting voting technologies that facilitate the theft of elections. Perhaps by working wiith the Republicans, mainstream Democrats have been able to slow the march toward fascism. But it has put them in a compromised position when the need is now so clear for us to do an about-face and march back toward democracy. -Josh Mitteldorf by Josh Mitteldorf (27 articles, 82 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 73 comments [39 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Jan 4, 2008 at 9:28:52 PM (0+)
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