WHEN, and if, Bush leaves office it will take an internal revolution by the next administration to reverse and undo the damage he's done to our democracy at home and to our influence and relationship with other countries around the world. Assuming that a Democrat will assume the presidency, he or she will be challenged to dig through the layers of anti-democratic initiatives and autocratic appointments which the Bushites have imposed on America without any significant interference or control on them from those legislators charged with exercising the checks and balances proscribed by the constitution they're pledged to uphold and defend.
When Bill Clinton left office, he issued a record number of executive orders on the environment and other issues which he'd been unable to legislate through the republican-controlled Congress. During his two terms, Clinton had averaged about one executive order per week (over 30,000 pages of new regulations in the last 90 days). Clinton's last minute EOs included issues like banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in federal hiring, bans on permanent striker replacements, an order to allow poor nations manufacture generic versions of expensive AIDS medicines, and a host of environmental orders which reserved hundreds of acres of federal land as refuges for wildlife and national monuments.
When Bush came into office, he promptly set out to reverse those Clinton orders by issuing his own contradictory ones and advancing legislation which ignored or overturned them. Many were allowed to stand, but others were challenged in court and in Congress. For instance, when Bush took office he rescinded Clinton's EO establishing labor management groups for federal govt. workers who were in unions with his own EO reversing Clinton requirements that federal contractors follow union standards. Bush also brought back an order which Clinton had struck down which required unions to inform workers of their right to refunds for dues used for politics.
An EO issued by Clinton to ensure environmental justice for minority and low-income populations was 'reinterpreted' by the administration and broadened to include 'everyone' as a dodge on their specific responsibility to the disadvantaged populations who suffer greater exposure to environmental hazards than others. The Clinton orders on the environment were bypassed in legislation like Bush's plan to allow coal-fired power plants to buy credits from cleaner plants instead of reducing their own emissions, ignoring the impact of those who still had to live with the offending plants and their hazardous emissions. On Oct. 1, 2001, Bush's Fish and Wildlife Service reversed a Clinton order to increase Missouri River flow to protect species. Jun. 9, 2003, Bush's USDA reversed Clinton ban on logging and road building on 58.5 million acres of federal forest land.
Bush has had his own executive order revolution in his two terms and we should brace for many more. This power-grabbing administration will do more than pilfer a few typewriter keys and abscond with WH furniture and silverware. In November, Bush signaled that he intended to bypass any opposition which the new Democratic majority might pose to his autocratic ambitions, by ordering agency staff to produce a myriad of executive orders for his consideration.
In January of this year, Bush issued an EO which directed that each government agency must have a regulatory policy office run by a political appointee, to supervise the development of rules and documents providing guidance to regulated industries. In July, Bush issued a presidential order giving him the authority to confiscate the assets of whoever opposes his Iraq occupation under the pretext of protecting his U.S. sponsored Iraqi regime. The same month, Bush issued an order broadening the law which had restricted the interrogation methods which can be used on terrorism suspects, absolving and allowing the CIA to resume their activities which were suspended after criticism which accompanied their revelation.
Everything from Bush's career appointments in Justice, Defense, Intelligence, the Courts, and the myriads of other government institutions he has dominion over, will stand in place and operation until the next administration moves to upend and dissolve them.
At the Justice Dept., there were reports that under the leadership of Bush crony, Gonzales, the WH had scrapped the civil service process which normally guided the selection of judges and other appointees in favor of a political process which focused on how much loyalty to the administration nominees demonstrated instead of considerations of merit and expertise. That political abuse of the hiring process was capped by the dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys based on their dissent from administration orthodoxy. Most of those appointees will have to be carefully and systematically evaluated by the next administration as they seek to return our system of Justice to its expected role as an impartial, apolitical arbiter.
At Defense, there is the obvious influence of Bush's appointments which led us into Iraq and have kept us bogged down there. Many of the Pentagon's Bush cabal will be able to shrink back into the military fold when the next administration team takes charge. A great deal of the transformation of Bush military expansionism will be directed from the Pentagon where there is an institutional support ingrained into a career military which is almost never shy about their eagerness to demonstrate the strength of their forces. A strong leader will be needed to actually transform their mission instead of merely acquiescing to them because if some inexperience in foreign affairs, or a lack of expertise or influence in managing the military management structure.
In almost all of the agencies which Bush has so thoroughly infected with the influence of his craven political ambitions, there are already effects of the traditional flight of loyalists from lame-duck administrations poised for a reversal of party control. The NYT has reported on the large number of interim appointments which now exist in many Cabinet positions which would require congressional approval. The Bush administration has decided, in their interest or because of the opposition of the new Democratic majority in Congress, to leave these positions in the hands of the deputies-in-charge instead of pressing for replacements. Many of these seconds are appointees which have even more political and operational baggage than their predecessors. Although there will be a certain flight of these figures from an ascending Democratic Executive, there will still be a need to systematically dismantle the webs of assumed authority Bush has encouraged and allowed.
Who knows just how many of Bush's political prisoners are still detained in the CIA's secret prisons around the world? Who can actually quantify all of the agents dispatched around the globe who are infected with Bush's imperious mission to meddle and obstruct in the internal affairs of sovereign nations?
Like Israel's use of cluster bombs in their recent assault and invasion of Southern Lebanon, making the previously settled territory uninhabitable because of the deliberate minefield-effect of the residual bomblets left littered everywhere, the Bush administration will leave a legacy and infrastructure at home and around the world which will pose dangerous and pernicious obstacles to any efforts to reform or reverse the effects of Bush's autocratic constructions.
As we look to the future without Bush and his anti-democratic minions in power and assumed authority, we will still need to remain focused on the malignant and infectious consequences of his unilateral meddling. One thing is certain; if we don't persist in removing these incendiary traces of his legacy that he's deliberately deposited at home and abroad, the Bush regime will have effectively institutionalized the tyranny they've so obviously craved and attempted throughout their term.
Ron Fullwood, is an activist from Columbia, Md. and the author of the book 'Power of Mischief' : Military Industry Executives are Making Bush Policy and the Country is Paying the Price
"the Bush regime will have effectively institutionalized the tyranny they've so obviously craved and attempted throughout their term"
More important is the stranglehold imposed by those who have installed and manipulated the Bush régime - That element will still be there, manipulating whoever is in office and taking ever more of our liberties and of our physical planet - I refer, of course, to 'the lobby' and those for whom they work.
Until that evil influence is extirpated, there can be no return to any acceptable normality and no relaxation of our vigilance.
by
Geraldo (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 105 comments)
on Sunday, November 18, 2007 at 10:09:40 AM
""those who have installed and manipulated the Bush régime - That element will still be there""
And one of the secnarios they have gamed goes roughly as follows: "Allow a democratic contender to win the '08 election and be sworn in as new president... then launch another false flag attack equal to or exceeding 9/11 -- designed to panic the population and reinforce the idea that "democrats are weak on defense" -- maiming the democrats in US politics for a decade or more -- and a resulting lurch to the right with all the Orwellian consequences.
"Operators are standing by."
by
mrk * (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 295 comments)
on Sunday, November 18, 2007 at 10:23:28 AM
Do you intend to imply that President Bush won't leave office on January 20, 2009? As in: do you anticipate some sort of coup d'etat to keep him in office?
by
Dana Pico (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 142 comments)
on Sunday, November 18, 2007 at 11:00:53 AM
Brushing Off Nagging Suspicions of a Bush Coup It's becoming difficult to imagine Bush and his cronies voluntarily relinquishing the gains they've achieved through their own anti-democratic maneuvering and obstruction.
by
Ron Fullwood (228 articles, 1 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 17 comments)
on Sunday, November 18, 2007 at 2:48:18 PM
While I admit to being comparitivelyignorant to the details of the machinations of the Bush administration through his anticipated use of Eos (thank you for the information). I can’t honestly say that I’m not surprised by your revelations.
Not that I agree that his EOs were entirely issued for solely craven reasons that has be implied but more out of the zealotary that comes from belief the absolute correctness of his ‘world view’.
I think he honestly believes that his view is God endorsed. Like you he believes he's resoring the intent of the Constitution. Objectively to some degree he's right. It all boild down to whose opinion is most right.
While it is possible for Bush to refuse to goI think it unlikely for the same reasons as trying to force his impeachment on 30% acceptance of this would be political suicide, trying to stay with less than 30% approval would be even more idiotically self destructive for him and his ideology.
I think it more likely he will try and intrench his ideological stance and to some degree trying to change things towards his perspective (ie the courts).
The above figures would indicate that most of the people's views (statistically)straddle the mean and somewhat falling short of the two extremes.
A more productive approach for those who read your what is an informative article would be to investigate options for not only remedy but also more lasting solutions.
by
Andris (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 531 comments)
on Sunday, November 18, 2007 at 8:02:35 PM
The coup has already taken place...just waiting on something now he/they can use to declare martial powers and create Bushass' beloved dictatorship, as long as HE gets to be the dictator.
by
HarpMan1224 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 14 comments)
on Sunday, November 18, 2007 at 5:44:09 PM
IF YOU THINK BUSH CHENEY ARE IN CHARGE THINK AGAIN, THEIR ARE JUST FOLLWING THE GLOBALIST AGENDA AND GETTING QUIT RICH FOR THEIR LOYAITY. THESE GLOBALIST HAVE AT THIS PLAN FOR 35 50 60 YEARS AND THEY ALMOST GOT THE BRASS RING, AND NOTHING AND NOBODY IS GOING TO STOP THEM, JFK TRYED AND WE ALL NO WHAT HAPPEN. SO WHEN BUSH LEIVES OFFICE NOTHING WILL CHANGE, THE NEXT PRESIDENT IS MOST LIKLY ALL READY PICKED BY THE GLOBALIST, AND PROGRAMED AND CONTROLLED. DON'T LOOK FOR A GREAT AMERICAN HERO RIDING A BIG WHITE HORSE TO SAVE THIS COUNTRY. GRIM BUT TRUE, IF IT TOOK THE GLOBALIST THIS LONG TO DEVELOPLE THIS PLAN, GET CONTROL OF THE WORLDS MONEY WITCH THEY DO, THE GLOBALIST CONTROL OUR GOVERNMENT AND WE DON'T ANYMORE, THEY CONTROL THE MEDIA, THE CONTROL THE ELECTIONS, THEY CONTROL THE WORLDS FOOD SUPPLY, THEY CONTROL THE WORLD HEALTH, THEY CONTROL THE WARS OF THE WORLD, AND WILL SOON CONTROL THE WORLDS OIL SUPPLY, AND NEXT CONTROL OF ALL HUMANITY, AND POPULATION CONTROL BY WHAT EVER MEANS THAT SEAMS FIT, OR AT THEIR PLEASURE. AND WHO IS GOING TO STOP THEM. THERE IS NO REVERSING THIS AGENDA. THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUTH THAT IN THE END THESE GLOBALIST WILL BE JUDGED BY THEIR CREATOR GOD ALMIGHT, AND WHERE THEIR GOING ALL THE MONEY THEY AMASSED WILL BE FUEL FOR THE FIRE.
by
RICHARD SHADE (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 460 comments)
on Monday, November 19, 2007 at 1:51:25 AM
Nobody said anything about reversing Bushie's damage... Many candidates probably are salivating at the prospect of inheriting all the power this administration has amassed through signing statements etc. I'm sure there's already plans in the works for some of them as to exactly how to expand and continue what has already been done to the Constitution. Our Government has changed and will continue down the same path...
by
C.Bid (0 articles, 7 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 684 comments)
on Monday, November 19, 2007 at 10:19:17 AM
12 comments
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