Partisan Political Diplomats

The Washington Post is reporting on political briefings by Rove’s people held for senior diplomats at the State Department.  As with so many other actions by the Bush White House - such as the US Attorney firings - we have here something that isn’t actually illegal, but is very much out of the traditional understanding of previous administrations about what is appropriate.  While launching constant attacks on the “partisanship” of their opponents, this White House has made every aspect of government partisan.

The constant in all of this is Karl Rove.  He seems to have looked at almost every procedure in the life of the administration and asked “How can we wring some political advantage out of this without technically violating the law?”  Repeatedly we have actions that, at least one could argue, are not illegal - just prejudicial to the functioning of government and the remaining shreds of prestige and dignity of the executive.

Of course, a similar game was played by Bill Clinton in his word-parsing defense of his sexual indiscretions and the perjury he committed to cover them up.  The problem is that comparing the effects of these is like comparing a cut on the finger of the executive with having a broadsword slammed into its guts.

Clinton dishonored the White House - no two ways about it.  Bush has compromised the trust between the branches of government and between the executive and the American people.  No one is ever going to view the actions of a US Attorney in a political corruption case without wondering what other motives might be at work.  No one is going to quite trust the intelligence assessments used by the White House and the State Department to explain our foreign policy ever again.  No American administration is ever going to be able to say, “At least we don’t hold people without trial, we don’t hide them in secret prisons, we don’t torture people - that is what our enemies do” and be believed.

The worst part is, that these guys don’t even seem to realize that what they have done has hurt our country - and that most of our country doesn’t seem to care, either.

All of a Piece

Former US Surgeon General Richard Carmona testified that the White House “buried” any information that didn’t match their ideological preconceptions on things like stem cells and teen pregnancy.

Can anyone be surprised by this?  This administration led us into war by ignoring intelligence it didn’t want to hear, it has violated international law and the Constitution by ignoring any voices that said they were doing so, it has consistently simply believed what was convenient for it and damn the consequences.

Consequences we are going to be dealing with for years after Dubya retires to Crawford and Cheney becomes the chief commentator on Fox News.

Here we go…

It is looking more and more like the Presidential election cycle is going to coincide with a major-league showdown over the Constitution.  The Washington Post is reporting that, as expected, the White House is going to deny the latest demand Congress has made for documents in Attorneygate.  Read the story here.

This and the appeals from Gitmo are going to be the real tests to see what the Roberts court is about.  We’ve got some disheartening views so far, but this is going to be the opportunity to see whether the Supreme Court is going to really do its job, or if it has been made into a rubber-stamp for conservative administrations.

Bush and the Republicans - Soft on Crime

Okay, back at it.

The New York Times has reported on a debate beginning among legal scholars in the wake of the President’s commuting of Libby’s sentence because it was “too harsh”.  Read it here.

Some of the arguments Dubya cited for commuting ol’ Scooter’s sentence were the same arguments that defense lawyers have been using AGAINST the Justice Department about sentencing in Federal criminal cases.  Bush has, in essence, given a new precedent for convicted criminals in the Federal courts to use to lessen their sentences.

Chaos theory in action?

Success?

Our beloved President is holding up Israel as an example of a functioning democracy dealing with violence, and as a model for Iraq.  Read more here.

So he thinks the Shi’ite majority in Iraq should basically turn the Sunni minority into stateless persons and leave them that way for the next sixty years.  Then the minority can commit acts of pointless violence due to anger and despair while the threatened majority responds with overwhelming violence and repression that creates a seemingly endless cycle of attack and reprisal only interrupted by short period of illusory hope.

Great plan, Mr. President.  You seem to be well on your way to success in Iraq.

The Real Bush Legacy

The discussion has already started about Dubya’s legacy as President - handling of 9/11, War on Terrorism, Patriot Act, Afghanistan and Iraq, etc…

We can see the real legacy, however, in this story from the L.A. Times; one of many covering these decisions by the Supreme Court.  Bush’s real legacy is going to be in the persons of Justices Roberts and Alito.  These men will be shaping the laws and the structure of government long after Dubya has retired to the ranch in Crawford.

John Marshall, the most influential Chief Justice thus far, carried the philosophy and ideals of the Federalists well into the 19th century - when the Federalist Party itself had ceased to exist.  Roberts and Alito will also carry on the legacy of this administration for years - and probably decades - to come.

Money is speech and faith-based initiatives.  The future is here, folks.