W Plays the "Stay Out of Jail Free" Card
Cross posted at
Talking Points Memo Cafe
In no other way can a President exercise lasting influence over the philosophical direction of the nation's government and social mores than through appointments to the Supreme Court. In fact, it was with this kind of influence in mind that Religious Right joined in lock-step and propelled Bush into the White House. So, with the Far Right wailing and rending cloth over their perceived loss of appointments they worked so hard to control, the question remains: Why did he choose Roberts and Miers?
More . . .
We should be thankful two Supreme Court vacancies did not open up for Bush until his second term. If these vacancies had opened up earlier, we would have been faced with far more dangerous choices, for several reasons. Perhaps O'Connor realized this, and that is why she waited until the second term to retire, as surely she is aware of the ramifications of her exit and the timing of it. Had Bush been called upon to fill a vacancy during his first term, he would have been forced to deliver a justice hand picked by the Religious Right. He would have had no choice, simply because he would still need the unmitigated support of the far right to deliver him a second term. During his first term he only had to continue to promise the Far Right a Supreme Court Justice, he didn't have to deliver. That's no longer an issue in this second term. He can't be re-elected, so in a very real sense he no longer needs the support of the far right. In fact, he now has more pressing concerns than getting more votes. It seems clear that Bush's choices are now driven by more personal problems.
Apparently, no one knows much about either Roberts or Miers - more than Bush, that is. I could be very wrong, and a few years from now we may learn that both Roberts and Miers are hard core Right Wing idealogues, but I suspect not. There are, however, two things that distinguish both Roberts and Miers:
- Both Roberts and Miers have a long history of defending corporations against environmentalist interests, and civil suits brought by citizens and labor groups for arguably unethical behavior. This kind of support on the Supreme Court may help Bush protect his financial interests in the energy sector, and defend his decisions as president regarding energy policy.
- More importantly, though, both Roberts and Miers have served loyally as personal and/or government attorneys for Bush and his inner circle - most notably Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rove - or, in Roberts' case, his father during the Reagan years. In fact, Roberts' particular forte seems to be successfully defending the government within the context of the Supreme Court. A valuable asset, surely. Especially if you think you may soon be in need of defense.
There is some speculation that the only person who Bush may have wanted on the Court more than Roberts or Miers is Alberto Gonzales, whose qualifications on point #2 above, vis a vis keeping Bush out of jail, are even better.
As time goes by, more and more revelations of potentially criminal behavior erupt on the periphery of this administration. The list is getting long. And, as time goes by, all these trails starting way out on the frontier lead back to Washington and the heads of the Bush Administration. The activities that potentially carry the prospect of significant jail time include everything from election tampering, conspiracy and fraud, to a wide range of both national and international war crimes. It was in January 2002 that Gonzales warned the Bush and his administration that they could be in danger of prosecution under the U.S. War Crimes Act, and he further prescribed a strategy for avoiding it. As second in command of legal defense under Gonzales, sub-commander Miers has no doubt been well schooled in the defense strategies against such charges.
Having friends on the Supreme Court will become even more important to Bush and his cronies after he leaves office. As the political climate changes - and indeed, there are signs this may already be underway - public pressure to prosecute those responsible for such a wide range of truly egregious offenses may well build to a crescendo. Add the support of a new and possibly Democratic Congress, and beyond that the White House, and the possibility of truly serious charges become very real. Remember: these justices, loyal allies, will remain on the Supreme Court for the rest of Bush's life, regardless of who controls Washington for the next 20 years. With so much darkness on the horizon, it's no wonder Bush is making shrewd appointments now with an eye toward who can best protect him from the coming storm. Using this calculus, satisfying the philosophical views of a now useless sector of the political spectrum do not even enter his equation.
It has become clear to those of us on in the Middle and the Left for some time that Bush courted the Right not because he is a true believer, as he professed, but as a way to gain access to the U.S. Treasury. The ruse was played convincingly, dressed as it was in red, white and blue bunting, and accompanied by exhortations of Patriotism and loud thumpings of the Bible. However, clearly Bush has not danced with the date that brought him. Once in office, he and his cohorts immediately set about filling their pockets rather than advancing the Conservative agenda, except where it was directly to his own benefit. The formula he has used to enrich himself and his partners in the Oil and Defense Industries is embarrassingly transparent: First, cut taxes to the very wealthiest 1% of the population (Bush, et al) so you don't have to pay taxes on the wealth you are about to receive, then start wars in oil and gas producing countries so that you can award yourself no-bid contracts for hundreds of billions of dollars in tax revenues taken from the middle class. Finally, use the plunder from those contracts to fund the additional campaigns for yourself and your underlings, making the cycle complete, and the country utterly bankrupt.
Sadly, in the face of these two self-preserving appointments to the Supreme Court, it is only now, with three more years left of Bush in office, that the Far Right has begun to realize they've been had, along with the rest of us.