Taking a HARD look at the Business of Politics

Putting aside the fact that Hussein deserves whatever he gets, the manipulation of the Iraqi Tribunal by the Bush Administration solely for political gains right before the election and at a time when the Iraqi situation was already volatile, thus putting both Iraqi and US lives in danger, is absolutely despicable. Anyone who thinks the timing on this verdict was coincidental is wearing rose colored glasses re Rove and his crew.

But this is just one of a HUGE LIST of things this administration has done in the name of political expediency. The New York Times, for the first time in memory, is not endorsing any Republican Candidates whatsoever, when historically they’ve always endorsed a number of Republicans. An Editorial summed up why nicely:

To begin with, the Republican majority that has run the House — and for the most part, the Senate — during President Bush’s tenure has done a terrible job on the basics. Its tax-cutting-above-all-else has wrecked the budget, hobbled the middle class and endangered the long-term economy. It has refused to face up to global warming and done pathetically little about the country’s dependence on foreign oil.

Republican leaders, particularly in the House, have developed toxic symptoms of an overconfident majority that has been too long in power. They methodically shut the opposition — and even the more moderate members of their own party — out of any role in the legislative process. Their only mission seems to be self-perpetuation.

The current Republican majority managed to achieve that burned-out, brain-dead status in record time, and with a shocking disregard for the most minimal ethical standards. It was bad enough that a party that used to believe in fiscal austerity blew billions on pork-barrel projects. It is worse that many of the most expensive boondoggles were not even directed at their constituents, but at lobbyists who financed their campaigns and high-end lifestyles.

That was already the situation in 2004, and even then this page endorsed Republicans who had shown a high commitment to ethics reform and a willingness to buck their party on important issues like the environment, civil liberties and women’s rights.

For us, the breaking point came over the Republicans’ attempt to undermine the fundamental checks and balances that have safeguarded American democracy since its inception. The fact that the White House, House and Senate are all controlled by one party is not a threat to the balance of powers, as long as everyone understands the roles assigned to each by the Constitution. But over the past two years, the White House has made it clear that it claims sweeping powers that go well beyond any acceptable limits. Rather than doing their duty to curb these excesses, the Congressional Republicans have dedicated themselves to removing restraints on the president’s ability to do whatever he wants. To paraphrase Tom DeLay, the Republicans feel you don’t need to have oversight hearings if your party is in control of everything.

Well, folks. Unless we want two years more of unbridled fascism, corruption, the systematic stripping away of our rights with no oversight, and the silencing of our voice, our course is clear. We ALL need to send a clear message to the Bush Administration, regardless of our political affiliation. To quote a Philadelphia Tabloid’s headline, “THROW THE BUMS OUT!”

Technorati Tags: Fascism, Corruption, Bill of Rights, Tom DeLay, Bush, Rove, Iraq, Hussein, Election, New York Times Endorsement

BitchSlapped on 11/6/06, 10:40 AM
King Bush, The Republican Party, The Top Dogs BitchSlapped, and
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