Accountable: 1. Answerable. 2. Explainable.
I have been a public servant for my entire 20-year career. I have worked variously for federal, state and local governments, with the bulk of my service being for the federal government. As a public servant, I am all too familiar with the maze of rules and regulations intended to keep the public sector accountable to the public. Here is what this administration has contributed:
Accountability is for cowards.
That's right folks.
There are thousands (if not millions) of people working for the public sector all over this country who have been given the message from the top that the government not only isn't but shouldn't be accountable to anyone. What greater message could we have been given by the leaders of our country? What greater example could there be? Just to make sure I understand the new rules, I thought is might be helpful to summarize what I have learned by watching my leaders:
- Brownie's e-mails are as high up the food chain as the Freedom of Information Act applies.
- The Office of the Vice President has the sole authority to design our nation's energy policy specifically for the benefit of the oil industry. No questions asked, especially under oath.
- An ongoing investigation is all the reason needed for the White House to refuse to answer any questions concerning White House conduct. (An exception exists if the investigation involves a blow job.)
- Press access to the Administration is a privilege, not a right and is limited to those whose reporting is acceptable (positive).
- Performance is in the eye of the beholder. The only beholders who matter are in the White House.
- Anyone who pisses off the White House is fair game and all the resources of the federal government may be used against them.
- Accountability is a partisan political issue, as is corruption, crime, treason and torture. As partisan political issues, they should not be taken seriously.
- People who question the administration are, by definition, traitors and terrorist sympathizers and are subject to investigation.
- Any questions concerning the administration's conduct of war are to be translated to the military as attacks on morale and comfort to the enemy.
- The American people are troublemakers. Secrecy and fear are the only effective means of controlling them.
One of the many pathetic legacies of this administration could be the continued oozing of unaccountability and corruption into the pores of the entire government infrastructure. From day one of this Presidency, the administration has behaved with a sense of entitlement and arrogance that are unprecedented, especially given the questionable nature of the 2000 elections. The protections that the administration has afforded itself should be considered abysmal in our democracy and yet "we the people" have been rendered irrelevant in the accountability process.
I am sick of it. To hell with waiting for the 2008, or even the 2006 elections. Why are we expecting Congress to do this for us? If a few us put our heads together, I am convinced that we can find the legal means to demand more accountability from this White House. If we can combine that with the power of the blogosphere we can initiate an accountability now campaign that could bring this administration to its knees. Who's with me?