I’m sure you have heard this point by now and it’s really quite a translucent one.
(Just as a general example of what I have seen around here, lately).
”You want this administration to “look back?!” You want the neoconservative members of the Bush administration who tortured Iraqis to languish in prison BEHIND BARS? You want prosecutions of bankers like in the S&L crisis? What kind of animal are you? I can see the blood lust in your eyes. You just want a witch hunt! You just want REVENGE!”
Now why would we hear this from Democrats who claim to strongly support the Democratic Party Platform? It's quite puzzling, but I’ll try my best to explain with an exercise or two and some references.
Let’s say a popular leader of a political party is criticized for failing to live up to one of the many standards we are supposed to stand for as Americans established after WWII. Let’s say a tragic event was exploited in order to take away many of the rights and freedoms Americans have always taken for granted with two wars.
It happened. We were all once united against these transgressions.
But then something else historic happened; after 8 disastrous years of the of Bush administration, its attack on the Constitution, and disastrous foreign policy; an AA Democrat named Barack Obama was elected President with my help (I worked the phones for weeks on end) and others. Suddenly the same calls for the same Justice in holding up these same standards struck down during the Bush administration began to fade away with time.
And how does one cover up the exposure of his or her lack of commitment to these standards? By expounding their belief in the magical “safe” vague language in the NDAA codifying the 2001 AUMF invoked for indefinite detention "making everything OK." Language that can be interpreted in multiple ways, but supposedly, “NOT THAT WAY! NOT THIS TIME! NOT THIS PRESIDENT!” They promise us this.
We know better. History shows us it's nto going to be OK. You can fool some people some of the time, but you can’t fool all the people all the time.
Al Gore once explained the importance of the rule of law. With righteous indignation he shined light upon the disastrous disregard of FISA Law requiring a warrant (and still successful) that was struck down by the Bush administration. With passion Al Gore disdained indefinite detention. He didn’t pretend disregarding the Geneva Conventions and the 4th amendment was OK.
Indefinite detention and the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping is still a reality thanks to the support of President Obama and a Congress that enabled him to do so. In fact a good majority of what former Vice President Al Gore rightfully disdains in this speech is still alive within a Democratic administration. Al Gore quotes passionately the voices of Thomas Paine (“In America the Law is King”) among other founding fathers to drive this point home. Al Gore does a great job in this speech.
What an animal. Didn’t he know that the Bush administration just needed more time? Don’t people know that once Bush started the GWOT it was impossible for even him to stop it? So stop criticizing Bush and stop criticizing Obama! Congress didn’t let them stop what they continued! Doesn’t Al Gore know how Washington works after 8 years in the House, Senate, and President of the Senate as VP?
Of course he does. These excuses are ridiculous as explained by Al Gore. As referenced by Gore, Thomas Paine said that in America the Law is King and during times more dangerous than these we upheld these standards that defines us as a country.
In the real world where people think for themselves and idolize ideals instead of the personalities of politicians, you’re actually not a tyrant if you demand adherence to the rule of law instead of one leader. Holding to the same standards matters. However, it matters not how creative any revisionist historian with a partisan axe to grind tries to frame you as a blood thirsty heathen because you are informed of this fact. You are not, and you have standards they don't really have. The record is there if one chooses to learn the right precedents from the historical record.
The rule of law also stems to financial crimes and our entire system. Apparently some kossacks think that that the rule of law in our financial system, the sub-prime crisis, with the foreclosure crisis and bets on top of it are just not worth the wait anymore. To them, election season is more important and the chance will still be there once they come back to reality. I think it’s time for a crash course in moral hazard because I don’t think half of kossacks are even aware of how it works. Enter Fortune:
In case you don't get this 100% accurate satire of how ridiculous it is when you make excuses for this kind of TBTF financial system, try to think of bankers like your own children. The kind of behavior you accept from them gives them the incentive to keep on behaving that way. If you make too many excuses for yourself or whoever you put in charge of raising them or babysitting them, you are creating a moral hazard there as well. Even if you don't know what moral means, it is still hazardous to everyone around you who has to deal with the reality of this behavior you helped create.
I have to wait for all the details to emerge on this financial task force that seems like a PR stunt from the SOTU, but so far I don’t like what I am hearing. We need more info as to what actions it’s specifically going to take, because it’s already part of a task force structure that has done absolutely nothing. We need to demand that it does something to hold these Robber Barons accountable.
That’s justice, not a thirst for blood. The hazard that comes from a fake morality play that’s all too evident here is too much to bear. It’s called legal standards and knowing what we are supposed to stand for and the forgotten word morality. A sense of Justice and fairness used to be important and not just in a political context. If you let them go they are almost impossible to get back. These kinds of standards do matter.
We need to stand for a written rejection of the moral hazard evident in the pathetic 20 billion settlement from Iowa AG Tom Miller and this administration. A settlement that will be less than what NV AG Catherine Cortez Masto and other state AGs will amass by themselves against the banks in their own respective states when all is said and done. We need to get to the bottom of all of these crimes and hold those responsible accountable in our justice system.
As I have said before and will say again, nation states and the economies their laws support are not legit and cannot function for everyone unless we demand our so called Representatives from the president on down adhere to and respect the rule of law. The rule of law is not just a foreign policy issue or a Constitutional issue, as many think of when it's spoken. The rule of law is the most important aspect of our entire economy(Monetary and fiscal policy) and our entire economic system.
It's not going to be OK if you just have faith. You have to learn to think, not just how to believe. The kinds of laws you passively accept being unenforced(whether by loyalty to the president or Democrats in Congress) do construct the kind of economy you actually live in, live with, and how this economy actually functions. This is true whether you like it or not or whether you like the way I said it or not.
If you don't demand the economy you want, if you don't demand the kind of country you want, or if you don't demand the type of economic system you want you will be left entirely out of the debate and right now you are for the most part. This is why #OWS spawned and luckily is here to stay.
You see, when you make excuses for the economy you don't want by excusing and only lightly admonishing the defrauding of investors, home owners, and all consumers that form the basis of the real economy you help strengthen this unequal neoliberal Gilded Age nightmare we are living in. And when you do so merely because you want to support the politician or party in office, you do bear some responsibility for that and all the damage that then ensues.