We all have seen how incompetance is rewarded in the republican fantasy world. Most recently, being the medals of freedom for George "slam-dunk" Tenet, Paul "de-Baathification" Bremer, and Gen. "plenty-of-troops" Franks. And despite calls for Sec. of Defense Rumsfeld's resignation, Bush tells us he's doing a "remarkable and splendid" job. Have you stopped to wonder why?
Now think back: The honoring of people who completely fuck up was an old favorite among the failed Communist states. After Chernobyl, the worst nuclear disaster in history, the Soviet Minister of energy was bestowed a medal - never mind that the meltdown was his responsibility. Why? Because "honoring" failure removes accountability from both the parties. Bush is working right out of the old soviet playbook - rewarding failure and praising incompetance to obfuscate his own very real failings.
Of course this behavior flies in the face of the old republican "accountability" meme. The accountabilty meme was popular during the congressional debates on welfare reform, and later, on the No Child Left Behind Act. Turns out that republican accountability really applies only to underpaid school teachers and single welfare mothers, and not our actual leaders, who make decisions affecting the lives of millions.
And what happens to Republicans who actually do their job well? Just ask House Ehtics Panel chief Joel Hefley (R-Colo.), who is facing likely removal from his post for his role in admonishing House Majority Leader Tom Delay. He is being punished for insisting on minimum standards of ethical behavior for his colleagues. His designated replacement is Rep. Lamar Smith (R- Texas), a croney of DeLay's who actually received cash in one of the deals for which DeLay will likely be indicted. (Can you say "conflict of interest"?) You can read the whole story here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32307-2004Dec28.html
Questions of the Day:
-Are there ANY republicans who truly believe in the notion of accountability for our leadership?
-ANY that truly believe in the concept of ethical behavior? and the poll question...