Nixon and Kissinger were the boogeymen of my coming of age years. They foreshadowed Bush, and it seems as natural as it is un-natural that Bush turned to Kissinger for advice on Iraq. Ain’t no flies on Georgie boy, he knew who to turn to for war criminal advice. Of course failed Nixonites and Reaganites have been swarming all over W ever since they had the bright idea to show their contempt for the country and the presidency in such a novel way – by installing a venal buffoon as our president.
(continued...)
The post-Watergate, post-Vietnam, post-I’m-not-a-crook backlash bought us a little breathing room with four years of Carter (we won’t speak of Ford). Jimmy Carter deserves far more credit than he is often given. He championed human rights as America’s highest priority, and he came closer than anyone else in the modern era to making peace in the Middle East.
But then we got hit with Reagan who’s only skill was acting, but he was good enough at that to sell his Kindly Warmhearted Uncle act, which only masked the dark vision of the lunatic right that we have all come to know and love – the very same darkness that led us all to the demented nightmare vision of President Dick Cheney. That whole actor thing worked out so well for them that they’re thinking about trying it again.
U.S. politics took a sharp turn to the right in 1980 with the election of Ronald Reagan as president. Domestically, Reagan touted an agenda that would lead to a sharp upward redistribution of income. Internationally, Reagan explicitly rejected the "détente" framework for engaging the Soviet Union that had been accepted by the leadership of both major parties since the beginning of the Cold War. In its place, Reagan put forward a doctrine of U.S. unilateralism in which the United States basically claimed the right to do whatever it wanted, unconstrained by allies or international institutions.
America Since 1980: A Right Turn Leading to a Dead End
Reagan had the country so snowed that Old Bush snuck in on us in his wake continuing the Reagan revolution criminal enterprise, and then the Big Dawg had his eight.
There was a time when I loved Clinton, I still hold him in high regard. His charisma and intelligence alone make him a remarkable man. He’s the only President I ever saw who could speak extemporaneously to any important issue with knowledge and assurance – expertise even. He had command of virtually every aspect of every issue of the day and could exhibit careful and substantial forethought on each subject. He was a brilliant man...certainly by today’s standards. Make that a fucking genius...by today’s standards.
He was a remarkable President it has to be said. Sure he screwed us on some deals like NAFTA, welfare reform, and others I’m sure I’ll be reminded of, but he did good things for the economy...certainly by comparison. It also has to be said that he was respected among the nations of the world...again, certainly by comparison.
Bill Clinton was a man of unusually high intelligence. It’s hard to imagine he’d have reacted so poorly to 9/11. Certainly Surely he wouldn’t have used it as a ruse to put a bunch of neocons or other crazy people in charge of our country.
I don’t think so much of old Bill these days I have to say. I wouldn’t take anything away from him, he’s still probably the best President of my lifetime...so far. But the man has changed. He was always way too beholden to the establishment to truly be a man after my own heart, but I accepted that as an unavoidable consequence of his being involved with our craven and corrupted electoral system and Big Money politics.
But he always had a touch of genuine regard for the little people, the wee folk, the powerless, the disenfranchised. I think I loved him for the same reasons black people loved him - he was for real. Not being a son of privilege, his roots were in the America the rest of us inhabit. He was real people. You could just sense that about him. But alas, even real people can have their heads turned by Big Money. I believe that’s what happened to Bill, he got his head turned and joined the other side. He’s no longer out for you and me...or at least that’s my opinion of him.
And Hillary is just a pale shadow of the Big Dog, a pale war-loving shadow at that. T’is a pity...I once loved her too. And again, I don’t mean to take anything away from her, she’s a brilliant woman – but they’re both eat up with the corporate money disease (IMHO).
And so a fond or not so fond adieu to the Clintons....which brings us to you-know-who.
Now without resorting to any extraneous Nazi references, let me just ask you, could Bush and his accomplices be any worse than they already are? Astonishingly, I think the answer is yes.
And I know I shouldn’t use the word Fascism because...um, why was that again?
A lot of people don’t know how close we are to losing everything we hold dear. Something as simple as war breaking out with, oh I don’t know – Iran? could be enough to bring about something even worse than Bushco as we have known them – and brothers and sisters, these assholes have been plenty bad enough...we don’t want to see what’s worse.
When contemplating what is the worst that Bushco might yet do, consider what all they have done so far. I think I’ve noticed a troubling trend - they always out-scumbag the most dire scumbag projections. They continually prove themselves even worse than we dared imagine them to be. Allow me to quote my favorite author.
We always knew that they represented Corporate America, the filthy rich, and the forces of discrimination, censorship, bigotry, and avarice. We knew they were famous for `dirty tricks' and criminal behavior (see Watergate and Iran/Contra). We knew they were heartless and uncaring toward the poor and needy. We knew they were the party of social Darwinism and a throwback to an unenlightened age when gay people were viewed as an abomination and women were regarded as chattel. We knew they wanted to impose their narrow, wrong-headed yet curiously self-righteous views on all the rest of us. We knew they represented intolerance, greed, selfishness, hatred, hypocrisy and hubris writ large.
What we didn't know was how complete was their contempt for the American ideals of equality, liberty, and democracy.
Clear and Present Danger - A Call to ACTION>
These guys are guilty of serious War Crimes, and oddly, War Crimes is a phrase we hear all too little these days. Where’s the outrage? I mean I know there’s plenty here at dkos, but where is it in the media? Last I heard, Tweety had stated the simple truth, that aggressive war is a war crime, and not a minor war crime but the mack daddy of them all. That’s been some weeks back and I haven’t heard a peep of any such thing out of the MSM since. I’ve heard a lot of silly crap about winning or losing in Iraq but really not much at all about the 8,000 pound elephant in the room. Nobody wants to say war crimes...and it is just so obvious. What’s everybody so damned afraid of? It’s time to take these suckers down. We need indictments and arrests! And not of the unbinding sort either. We need to stop these boys before they can do any more harm.
"If the people knew what we had done, they would chase us down the street and lynch us." ~ George H.W. Bush to journalist Sarah McClendon
The Surge Option is for SUCKERS!
Brothers and sisters, it’s time to chase the rat bastards down the street!
If we don’t prosecute the Bush administration there will never again be honor or justice in America.
Amen Dr. King, Amen!
Peace Out!
OPOL