Tuesday, March 14, 2006

As Bush Descends Into Hell, Will the Democratic Party Find its Soul?

by Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy

Bush's reign of terror is falling apart as fast as Iraq slides into utter chaos and civil war. And still —the Democrats can't make the quantum leap from Bush's utter failure in Iraq to the emerging, undeniable fact that there is no "war on terror." The "one" terrorist suspect that Bushco has been able to link in any way with Al Qaeda may walk because, according to Judge Leonie Brinkema, Bushco's case is "irredeemably contaminated". [See: Washington Post, Federal Witnesses Banned in 9/11 Trial]

In all other instances, Bushco has merely defined all opposition as "terrorist". That's neat but fallacious! Worse —it's utterly useless if a real war is to be fought. It never was. In fact, opposition by an indigenous population to an aggressive invader is recognized as "legal" by any standard of international law. People have a right under international law to defend their homeland. Given those facts, one is hard pressed to find a single real terrorist in Iraq.

Is there no Democrat who will state the truth about Iraq? When will the Democrats begin with the most obvious truth: the war was begun upon a pack of lies? When will the Democratic party find the courage to state the fact that the war against Iraq was and remains illegal by every international standard insisted upon by the United States itself. When will the Democrats at last discover that the attack and invasion of Iraq had nothing whatsoever to do with "terrorism" or with 911? Everything said by Bush about Iraq has been a lie. And the lies continue. Let's make this simple for the party of the "loyal opposition": the war was and remains a crime; it's morally wrong; it's a blunder from which the U.S. may never recover.

Let's be blunt: the Democrats have failed to gain a single point from Bush's numerous and assorted calamities because they've offered no real alternative. Americans are ahead of all politicians on this point.

Meanwhile, Sen. Joseph Biden's message is of the form "...but we could have fought the war better!" What war? The war on terror or the war against the people of Iraq? What Biden doesn't understand is that the one war was never fought —and the other should never have been fought! I am still awaiting the Democrat who will state flat out that the war was a crime!

The sins of omission, in the one case, and the sins of commission in the other, will forever link the word "evil" with the Bush administration. Certain themes recur whenever "evil" is talked about. The Nuremberg psychologist, Dr. Gustav Gilbert, thought "evil" to be an "...utter lack of empathy" and Hanah Arendt wrote of the Banality of Evil. Both concepts are consistent with a practice of the American right wing: blaming their victims. Many of the most infamous Nazis (Adolph Eichmann, for example) were just numbed bureaucrats doing a job. Others were "just following orders". The commandant of Auschwitz asked: "Is it wrong for a rat catcher to catch rats?"

Evil is often associated with the "Faustian Bargain". In literature, one literally sells one's soul to Ol' Scratch. But in real life, the Faustian Bargain is not so easy to spot. One sells one's soul in many ways. One sells one's soul by trading one's free will and conscience for material or other "gain" —bribes, high paying jobs, a home in suburbia, graft, campaign contributions.

Most corporate employees are bought and paid for. They have little choice but to support the evil corporation, the cancer merchants of big tobacco, the despoilers of the only environment we will ever have. Mere employment has no moral dimensions if the employer is in all cases benign —but what is to be said of the legion of company types who toil daily for Halliburton and, by proxy, Dick Cheney, Darth Vadar to Bush's evil Emperor?

In yet another example, I give you the Democratic Party. By refusing to oppose Bush with any effectiveness and, in fact, enabling some of his most repugnant and tyrannical measures, the Democrats have literally sold the soul of the party and worse —they done so at a discount. As Rick told Ugarte in Casablanca: "I don't mind a parasite. I object to a cut-rate one."

I would think normal people would find the idea that laws can be broken in order to carry out state sponsored atrocities, such as torture and wars of aggression, to be unthinkable. And, in normal times, I suppose, they are and most certainly should be. But the idea of "normal times" is seductive. There is every reason to believe that those lower echelon bureaucrats who carried out Hitler's crimes of aggression and genocide thought the times to be normal. It is sign of abnormal times that lawyers and bureaucrats worked assiduously to make Nazi atrocities legal ex post facto. In the Bush administration, that job has fallen to Alberto Gonzales.

Since the crashing of the Twin Towers, America has appeared to be in a state of mass hypnosis from which it is lately awakening. Americans have now learned that while they slept, Bush has imposed a police state upon the nation, complete with a secret police force, unbridled and unchecked widespread domestic surveillance of citizens, and a lost war waged perpetually nevertheless. One writer referred to it as an "... an ideological state of siege"

We are under seige by a radical right wing —a cancer on the body politic. It has grown since the Nixon resgination about which it is conveniently forgotten that it was Nixon's own party that did him in.
Under the aegis righteous retribution, the anger and frustration the neo-conservatives cultivated during the Vietnam War, and the degenerate Clinton Administration, was unleashed in a torrent of unabashed war mongering.

When The Phoenix Comes Home To Roost, Douglas Valentine

But about the war —"we" are and were right; the rabid right and the GOP was dead wrong! Worse —the GOP was wrong and knew it but supported Bush anyway. Bush was lying and KNEW IT ...but went ahead anyway. It doesn't get any more evil than that.

It's time to listen to the anti-war movement

By COLIN EAGER

In the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq, an unprecedented movement developed to stop the rush to war, a movement so large and diverse that the New York Times wrote of "two superpowers on the planet: the United States and world public opinion."

Tragically, the Bush administration ignored the majority of humankind and launched the invasion of Iraq on March 19, 2003. The third anniversary of the Iraq War will be marked with demonstrations in hundreds of cities across America, including a rally in Lafayette Square at 4 p.m. Saturday.

An anniversary is an appropriate time for reflection, and looking back on the last three years, two points stand out.

First, the anti-war movement has been proven correct in its prewar assessment and warnings. Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. Invading Iraq destabilized the Middle East, damaged U.S.-Arab relations and created a new breeding ground for terrorists and violent Islamic fundamentalists. ...

PEW: Bush Approval Falls to 33%

In the aftermath of the Dubai ports deal, President Bush's approval rating has hit a new low and his image for honesty and effectiveness has been damaged. Yet the public uncharacteristically has good things to say about the role that Congress played in this high-profile Washington controversy.

Most Americans (58%) believe Congress acted appropriately in strenuously opposing the deal, while just 24% say lawmakers made too much of the situation.

While there is broad support for the way Congress handled the dispute, more Americans think Democratic leaders showed good judgment on the ports issue than say the same about GOP leaders (by 30%-20%).
From our man on the prairie: Garrison Keillor:

Day of reckoning for the Current Occupant

Garrison Keillor, Tribune Media Services

Published March 15, 2006

Spring arrived in New York last week for previews, a sunny day with chill in the air, but you could smell mud, and with a little imagination you could sort of smell grass. I put on a gray jacket, instead of black, and went to the opera and saw Verdi's "Luisa Miller," a Republican opera in which love is crushed by the perfidiousness of government. A helpful lesson for these times. I am referring to the Current Occupant.

The Republican Revolution has gone the way of all flesh. It took over Congress and the White House, horns blew, church bells rang, sailors kissed each other, and what happened? The Republicans led us into a reckless foreign war and steered the economy toward receivership and wielded power as if there were no rules. Democrats are accused of having no new ideas, but Republicans are making some of the old ideas look awfully good, such as constitutional checks and balances, fiscal responsibility, and the notion of realism in foreign affairs and taking actions that serve the national interest. What one might call "conservatism." ...
Jessica Simpson has just risen a notch in my estimation:

Jessica Simpson snubs Bush

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Concerned about politicizing her favorite charity, singer-actress Jessica Simpson on Wednesday turned down a invitation to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush, a snub that left Republicans dismayed.

The apparent final word that Simpson would be a no-show at a major Republican fund-raiser with Bush and congressional leaders on Thursday night came after a day of conflicting reports from her camp and organizers of the event. ...

Original 'Toon by Dante Lee. Use with permission only


16 comments:

Anonymous said...

IF YOU SHAVED GEORGE W. BUSH'S HEAD

AND DIDN'T FIND

666,

YOU WOULD

AT LEAST

FIND

665 and 3/4s

benmerc said...

Casa quote...."priceless"

Unknown said...

thanks, benmerc. Casa is a goldmine.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the introduction to Hanah Arendt, especially liked her
"Personal Responsiblity under a Dictatorship". Very apt.

Unknown said...

Thanks Pat...I will check that out.

AWG said...

And don't forget the use of depleted uranium munitions over there. That, in itself, is an unforgivable war crime.

Sebastien Parmentier said...

"It is sign of abnormal times that lawyers and bureaucrats worked assiduously to make Nazi atrocities legal ex post facto. In the Bush administration, that job has fallen to Alberto Gonzales."

The two golden rules of any despotic government:

1, Lesislate a set of rules that overide liberties.

2, Enforce these new laws with a fist of iron.

Sebastien Parmentier said...

I meant "legislate", of course. I tend to type too fast...

Bryan Delano III said...

Spot on. And you know, I keep looking for signs of a schism, a divide that might signal the birth of a new avenue, a new party. Or at least a "Throw the bums out" movement led from within the party... somehow.

There's so much dead weight in the Democratic party, so many people beholden to the never ending process of compromise. Complicity is business as usual these days. That's why "rogues" like Feingold get abandoned at the gates of the palace, and why Paul Hackett gets ordered to bow out. Despite plenty of public support, their own party yanks the chair out from underneath them. (Indeed, Hackett's Daily Show appearance last night spoke to this brilliantly.)

benmerc said...

Yea, byran delano… Got to love that line: “ Complicity is business as usual these days” that says it all, a brilliant line . One wonders if there is any possibility of party reform at this point in time. I was a precinct foreman with moveon.pac during the last election, immediately following the election ( because of Kerry’s quick cave?) Moveon sent out a few questionnaires inquiring about the election and the experience etc. Some of the questions required written response and pertained to the forming of a third party. I had thought they were testing the waters, but have not heard much about it since. Maybe the numbers are not there yet, but much has passed by since then. I think it will take at least an organization currently with the capacity of a Moveon to even approach the effort of forming a third party. And remember to look at the Greens, they are fractured and ineffective on a national level occasionally donning the typical 3rd party “spoiler role". The new third party needs to be several notches above that position, and it will take lots o’ cash and people with more then a “similar” mind-set.

At least Hackett got to come straight out with it: The Democratic party will not tolerate any debate…jump through the hoops or else…HHmmm, which party does that remind you of? So somewhere in between the dysfunctional fractured Greens, and the lock step myopic brown shirt Republicans lay the territory that the Democrats are suppose to reside, but it seems they are bent on running to the right for now. Ideally if we had a strong enough third party, it may over time be able straighten out both of the current dominate parties and the ills of our system .

Jay Allbritton said...

Good stuff. I'm hoping Feingold is the soul of the Dems. He's the only one who has been right on time after time.

In the Senate anyway.

BTW, Hannah Arendt is outstanding.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the comments, Station. Feingold alone seems to be "getting it". Impeachment now —rather than later —may be better than censure for the good of what's left of the nation. If the Democrats wait until they have solid majorities in both houses, the GOP will simply avoid reality again by blaming Democrats for the impeachment. Better if the GOP at least realizes that Bush has destroyed the GOP as well. Better if the GOP dumps him.

Anonymous said...

I am not sure that Feingold's censure motion can survive the spin. This current administration has brought the media and the Congress to heel on so many issues (the Dems should have stood up a long time ago). Feingold will be largely on his own.

You can gauge the difficulties facing a censure motion by the overt hostility on the part of the Repugs and the media to any talk of impeachment. It is seen as unpatriotic, completely misguided, sour grapes over 2004 elections, a political ploy for 2006 elections etc etc. These guys have no interest whatsoever in touching base with reality. Words have no meaning for them. Blind loyalty is all. This from the NYT:

ImpeachPAC, a grass-roots group based in New York City that grew out of the last election, is agitating for the idea. In the last few months, local governments in San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Arcata, Calif., and in several towns in Vermont have passed resolutions calling for impeachment. Harper's Magazine, the writer Garrison Keillor, the former Watergate figure John Dean, Barbra Streisand and the actor Richard Dreyfuss have expressed their support as well.

Well, if that isn't a group you'd want to hate I don't know what is? And this -

In playing up the impeachment threat, conservatives have forged an alliance of sorts with the most liberal wing of the Democratic Party, where the idea has bounced around since the invasion of Iraq failed to find the banned weapons that the administration had described before the war.

(Read: the NYT will NOT be supporting any impeachment in relation to Bush falsehoods about WMDs in Iraq).

No, cowboy, these pardners are going to ride with this Bush administration to the limit.

Unknown said...

You're right about the Feingold motion but it did accomplish something that must not be lost on the rest of the Democratic crowd. By even daring to introduce it, Feingold has managed to position himself as perhaps the 'lone' Democrat not beholden to the same corporate interests as the crooked GOP.

The Iraq debacle is a case in point. Bush pinned his Presidency on success in Iraq. But it's war waged on behalf of the corporate interests. Democrata who supported the war are now hard pressed to take a strong stand. Feingold, however, voted against it at the outset is if free to wade into Bush while others might look like opportunists.

Feingold for Pres?

Anonymous said...

Feingold would make a great president.

Unknown said...

Maybe the time has come to begin a movement. Feingold for Pres.