However, the battle is still far from over; Robert M. Gates who will replace Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense has a bit of history in the particular region we find ourselves currently embroiled in. Obviously I am aware that the world was a different place in the early 1980's, but the person to replace our heroically incompetent S.O.D. (nice acronym!) should be cut of different cloth rather than another official who is privy to programs of dubious legality, the flouting of international law, and assistance to our professed enemies no?
Well enough of that tack...
While I personally am far to cynical to ascribe the events of November 8th as a sea change, I do feel that, ‘throwing out the bums’, the American people have collectively repudiated the Rovian doctrine of rightist extremism and divisive discourse. Of course, the sheer number of convicted felons, gay pederasts, and suspected launderers in the halls of government surely only forced the issue. As it was pointed out on CNN last night, when one has to begin one's reelection campaign with an ad stating that "While I did regrettably cheat on my wife I never choked my mistress" surely it is an uphill battle at best. But, as so many have pointed out, the old axiom "Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely" may well become the epithet awarded this period by generations of American History teachers to come.
However, I do not agree that the principle business of the newly minted legislators should be to immediately pursue impeachment against President Bush. While this stance might seem incongruous with my general attitudes towards government, despite his utter ineptitude President Bush has been wise enough to never spread his blend of lies and spin under oath. In fact, I may be wrong (please let me know if I am) but Bush has only been under oath twice: at both inaugurations. Without immediate perjury it could take a decade to unravel the layers of illegalities and deceit that have entrapped and perverted our country (but not in a Mark Foley way... sorry, couldn't resist!) and pursuing such a process would bring the nation to a standstill.
I am not advocating ignoring the probable crimes committed by this administration (felonious wiretapping for one) but I am advocating the beginning of a concerted effort to reverse the disastrous policies of this grim half decade, and a stringent rejection of any further policies. It is my hope that such a dramatic reversal of political course may not be an isolated event, but may be the beginning of a new progressive era in which issues of fiscal responsibility, social inequality, universal healthcare, and the just distribution of the bounty of our wonderful country may finally be addressed in an inclusive and comprehensive way.
If this is going to happen it is clear that the burden is squarely on our shoulders; we the people must advocate for such causes, intimidate our representatives by strenuously voting our social consciences. We must legislate big money out of the equation, accept responsibility for continuous governmental oversight, familiarize ourselves with the minutiae of major issues, openly debate issues in a congenial matter, and above all remember that, as shown for the third time, our vote is not only our ultimate responsibility as citizens and can singularly change the course of the nation
Now... I suppose I should write on some architecture soon...
1 reactions:
I think that Bush deserves to be impeached for allowing members of his administration to violate the War Powers Act as well as certain parts of the Bill of Rights.
However, I think that the Democrats in Congress are terrible leaders who have not stood up to the Bush regime enough. Impeachment would just be a convenient side-track that would allow them to pretend to be doing the right thing without dealing with the real issues and without honoring the voters who have given them a majority in Congress. People want to roll back the Bush agenda regardless of what happens to Bush. I'd rather see the Democrats work to repeal the PATRIOT Act (yeah, right), No Child Left Behind and other abominations. I think some Republicans in Congress might even join them after this election.
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