As some of you know, I am a new-comer to the Kos pond and have lots to learn about politics. But even so, I have to laugh when some Republicans call President Obama a socialist. I think, instead that BO has significantly devolved from any "liberal" bias he may have had. Take the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) for instance. This is a deal so good for us Americans that, like a Christmas present, is being kept secret from us under pain of criminal prosecution.
But it is not the TPP which causes this diary to be. It is about a story of political corruption so vile that it insults and should frighten anyone who believes in the goodness of our democracy.
Many of you know the story I am retelling, to you it might be old news--yes, it is old news but it is still pertinent news. This is the story of the political prosecution / persecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.
I first learned of this travesty of justice belatedly, when I was attempting to retrieve my email. I came across a You Tube video by Cenk Uygur: https://www.youtube.com/...
I am appalled at what I saw. This story is evidently well-known--I'm not breaking any new ground here I know. The end result is that a now-disgraced federal judge, wife-beater Mark Fuller, passed judgement on a political opponent on "corruption" charges.
This story will not be repeated here. Suffice it to say that Don Siegelman is in prison for only the flimsiest of reasons.
The conviction of this man is all the more grating since the Alabama Republicans, even with all their resources, were never able to prove that Governor Siegelman received any monetary gain from this alleged crime.
Now, if any of you Kossacks like Carl Rove, you may stop reading and resign from this website. But this persecution, er prosecution, was put into play by Rove and orchestrated by him with a myriad of accomplices to obtain the end result. I am not a lawyer, but apparently 113 States Attorneys General, both Republican and Democrat, have protested this political quasi-judicial charade.
So here's the point of this diary: why does our "liberal, progressive" President condone this matter by his tacit ACQUIESCENCE in allowing the conviction to stand? Where is the sense of justice and fair play?
Maybe I am a naive dolt in wondering: WTF, how can you, BO, be a silent witness to this travesty of justice. Why, BO, don't you at least commute the man's sentence NOW, if not outright pardon him?
Scooter Libby, a co-conspirator in getting the US involved in the Iraq war, received a pardon from Dubya (the chief conspirator). Why can't you, Barack Obama do the same for Don Siegelman?