In reality the pardons being written by George W. Bush WILL likely mean that too many will "Get Out of Jail FREE" but the past 8 years cannot be ignored.
We are a nation of laws - or we are not.
While President Obama will be confronted with many challenges when taking office in January and it is understandable that he wishes to change the direction of the nation, that it will be easier to do so in a 'bipartisan way', we cannot let the past 8 years pass into history without any accountability.
The 'legacy' of the Nixon years, and the Reagan years - indeed from what seems to be every Republican Administration since Nixon - has been unpunished criminality. Thge ONLY lesson learned by too many who first came to positions of power in the Nixon Administration is that
You CAN get away with ignoring the law, you CAN get away with ignoring the Constitution.
On the very building housing the Department of Justice is engraved:
WHERE LAW ENDS, TYRANNY BEGINS
We have come far too close to tyranny in the past eight years.
You cannot move forward if you refuse to confront your past.
continued
In the past eight years, we have ignored our laws and our Constitution. This is not the first time this has happened. The same people keep trying - again and again - each time pushing the boundaries of 'the law'.
It is time for this to end.
We are a nation of laws - or we are NOT
We cannot allow this to ever happen again. Those behind the past eight years have not given up.
So, a very fundamental question arises with this change of Administrations:
Will the law be applied to all? Clearly the spirit of 'national healing' that was the reasoning for the pardon of Richard Nixon was expanded with Iran-Contra and other blatantly illegal acts. EACH new Administration employing these people has seen the boundaries of 'the law' pushed farther and farther.
We are all expecting a virtual dump truck full of pardons coming from President Bush before he leaves office. They may be unavoidable.
However it is imperative for this nation to KNOW all that has transpired under this Presidency.
It is IMPERATIVE that the violations of law be ended and corrected.
It is IMPERATIVE that a stake be put through the heart of the "Unitary Executive" therory and the BALANCE of powers restored.
It is IMPERATIVE that the power to wage war be returned to Congress, that a clear and open vote be required before this nation ever goes to war again.
It is IMPERATIVE - if the US is to truly regain the respect of the world - that the US Constitution be restored.
More than a few current Senior Democratic Leaders do NOT want 'accountability' because they themselves were complicit in some of the lawbreaking that occurred. Too many stood by silently - or even embraced - violations of our Constitution. This is one of the reasons for the 'unfavorable' ratings of COngress. People are upset that they did so little to rein in the execesses of Presidnet Bush, that so many excuses were found to NOT take action.
NO MORE EXCUSES
We are a nation of laws - or we are NOT
It will be the responsibility of the next Administration to show the world which.
Some on the right will scream 'witchhunt' - they will scream 'misconduct.' But appointment of INDEPENDENT investigators with BIPARTISAN oversight CAN work. The American people are far from stupid. They KNOW that bad things have occurred. It is time for accountability and change.
John McCain took a stand against torture - yet remained silent as a signing statement negated much of the legislation passed by Congress. Karl Rove STILL insists that "The US does NOT torture people" despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Billions of dollars have been paid to companies for uncompleted contracts or shoddy work in Iraq - work that has actually killed our soldiers. How many have died of electrocution in showers? "War profiteering" has been rampant in the past 7 years - yet NO serious investigations or prosecutions have occurred. THIS is unacceptable.
The same can be said for contracts written after Katrina. Where has the money gone?
Regulation and oversight have been nonexistent for the past 8 years. Oil and gas royalties have remained uncollected - an insult to the ordinary taxpayer.
And meanwhile, a TRILLION DOLLARS has been distributed in the 'bailout' of the financial induistries - without ANY accountaility or - it seems - any fundamental aid being provided to those most in need. Businesses are failing because credit is inaccessible - though banks are buying smaller - though financially viable competitors. Haven't we shown that BIG is not necessarily GOOD? With each merger comes another wave of layoffs. This is not good. People are still losing houses they COULD afford to stay in if terms were reasonable.
Already we are hearing of regulations that are about to be gutted as Bush leaves office - not througg COngressional action or the desire of regulatory agencies (indeed against their recommendations)- but by executive fiat. It is a further insult that the AMerican electorate has repudiated the 'legacy' of the current President - that this man's 'approval' ratings are lower than ANY President in history, yet he continues taking the very actions that we all disapprove of.
The law clearly requires preservation of Executive Branch records. Richard Nixon's presidency was ended by 14 missing MINUTES of tape. With George W. Bush we have YEARS of missing e-mails.
The United States went to war over LIES about 'WMD's' - violating International Law in the process. Clearly the 'outing' of a covert CIA agent involved officials in the Executive Branch. People LIED about this. Bill Clinton was impeached over lies about a blowjob. Whre are our priorities?
Many worried about this past election, about voter suppression, vote counting fraud and more. How horrid that these should even be potential worries in our Democracy. There should be NO QUESTION about the RIGHT of any citizen to vote and the GUARANTEE that their vote will be counted accurately. There were STILL reports of suppression, machine 'errors' and more in this election. This needs to change.
The Department of Justice was subverted and used for political means - prosecuting people for POLITICAL ends.
Whistleblowers in ALL Branches of government have been fired for questioning VIOLATIONS OF LAW. They deserved our protection, not prosecution.
This is but a small sample of the outrageous violations of law that have been officially sanctioned under this Presidency. NEVER AGAIN.
I say it again
We are a nation of laws - or we are NOT
If the crimes of the past 8 years are NOT made clear and there is no accountability, if all this is swept under the rug of history, President Obama will have betrayed the trust he has been given.
The Republican Party SCREAMS about 'Accountability'. If it is SO important for a Food Stamps recipient to be held to the law, to make sure that they qualify for the meager benefits they receive then a contractor being paid BILLIONS needs to be held accountable, those running government need to be held accountable.
George W. Bush and his Administration may set a record for issuance of pardons but they need to be held accountable. This nation, the world, needs to be shown that we will not ignore our own failures, theat we CAN hold ourselves accountable, that this nation is a nation of law.
I am not calling for a 'partisan witchhunt' - just 'accountability' - equal enforcement fo the law.
I am not some raving radical screaming for blood - on the contrary, I am rather older, someone who has evolved from rather conservative beliefs - someone who believes stridently that "Duty, Honor, Country" means adherence to the law, adherence to the Constitution and ACCOUNTABILITY. I had hoped that the Nixon years were the nadir of this nation. I've been wrong - repeatedly. The same names keep resurfacing - and keep ignoring our laws and Constitution.
The 'healing' that was supposed to occur with the Pardon of Richard Nixon instead led to decades of additional law-breaking. The intent of President Ford was undermined by the very people that benefitted from those pardons.
It is time for a clear and unconditional return to the rule of law - to the unconditional restoration of our Constitution.
The reasons for this need to be made clear and plain - there needs to be investigations and accountability - pardons or not.
You cannot move forward if you refuse to confront your past.