The Political Chase

40 Years Ago

40 Years and 7 Months Ago

Bush: No Democracy in Iraq, Saddam Killed all the ‘Mandelas’

Now we know why implementing Bush Democracy in Iraq has been such a failure — there is no one in Iraq capable of meeting the challenge. According to President Bush, Saddam Hussein killed all the “Mandela’s” in Iraq.

I’m sure all the Iraqis (current and U.S. invasion refugees) welcomed that comment.

GOP Filibuster Blocks Restoration of Habeas Corpus

Right-wing, neoconservative ideology prevailed over the principles of democracy in the Senate earlier today – a Republican filibuster blocked a bipartisan effort to restore habeas corpus in a 56 to 43 vote in the Senate (60 votes required to stop filibuster).

Few rise to this level

Indulge me for a moment, if you will.

Leadership. Take just a moment a think about the word and what it means.

After last night’s historic moment in presidential speeches and recognizing today is the sixth anniversary of passing the Authorization for Use of Military Force, it would be hard to argue the significance of what is demonstrated in this video — leadership.

Jane Hamsher posted this video of Barbara Lee’s incredible demonstration of courage and leadership.

Jane describes it perfectly:

Today is the 6th anniversary of Barbara Lee’s sole “no” vote on the AUMF. I watched her speech again this morning and it still gave me chills. I was in Tennessee at the time of 9/11 and even my wingy relatives who thought she should be shot for her vote had to admit that at the time it took real guts. You can hear her voice shaking when she gives her statement but also hear the stirring sound of conviction. I can’t remember another moment in recent history you could point to in which someone showed such leadership and courage. Everything around her was pointing her toward the easy out, and nobody would have blamed her if she’d taken it. The only thing she was guaranteed to receive as the result of her vote was right wing vilification, which she most certainly did.

People want real leadership in the Democratic Party, true conviction, not just vote pandering. Barbara Lee has demonstrated under really tough circumstances that she is a leader of conscience and strength. She deserves our thanks, our respect and our support.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)

TPC Roundup

The Economy and Employment Declines

“Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the current market turmoil is in many ways ‘identical’ to that which occurred in 1987 and 1998, when the giant hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management nearly collapsed,” the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.).

U.S. employment lost 4,000 jobs last month primarily related to substantial drops in construction and manufacturing payrolls, indicating the crisis in the housing market is effecting the economy as a whole. It is the first decline in jobs since August 2003. See the report here.

Indeed, we need more Bush tax cuts for those with income in the top one-percent of the country. But fear not, the U.S. military has plenty of job openings with $20,000 signing bonuses to boot.

A Nation at War

“Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, has told President Bush that he wants to maintain heightened troop levels in Iraq well into next year to reduce the risk of military setbacks,” the New York Times reports. However in a token gesture, Petraeus indicated he could “accept the pullback of roughly 4,000 troops beginning in January, in part to assuage critics in Congress.”

In stark contrast to to Gen. Petraeus’s assessment, but more in line with the recent GAO report, the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq recommended “disbanding the 25,000-strong Iraqi national police force [and] to redirect U.S. troops toward protecting Iraq’s borders and key infrastructure,” the Washington Post reports. “The report released yesterday…described the national police force as riddled with sectarianism and corruption.”

However, we can always depend on President Bush’s realistic assessment of the war, “‘We’re kicking ass.” Clearly, the president’s assessment bears the most credibility as evidenced by the killing of seven U.S. troops in Iraq yesterday.

In his customary recognition of the of the 9/11 anniversary, Osama bin Laden will reportedly release a new video.

Finally, on the topic of war, more than 50 years ago, the U.S. engaged in the Korean War, in summary, to protect South Korea from North Korea and the spread of communism. The war ended in a stalemate in 1953, however thousands of U.S. troops have remained in South Korea to deter any further aggression from North Korea. In another display of arrogance and stupidity in foreign policy, George Bush revised history, again, refusing to leave another sovereign country when asked to by its leader. Now the Korean War is about North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons, which they did not have until the 21st century. According to USA Today:

President Bush had an awkward exchange over peace on the Korean peninsula with one of his prickliest allies: South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun.” Appearing before reporters after an hour-long meeting” in Sydney, “Roh suddenly pressed Bush to clarify what it would take for the United States to agree to an official end to the Korean War…. Bush said North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il would have to end his nuclear weapons program before a treaty could be reached.

Restoring the Constitution

In a devastating blow to the Bush administration’s longstanding abuse of power, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero (New York) struck down the use of “national security letters” (NSL) — a provision of the Patriot Act — as unconstitutional. The judge declared the NSL’s violate the First Amendment and the Constitution’s separation of powers because the Act does not allow the recipient of an NSL (e.g. AT&T, financial organizations, Internet providers, etc.) to reveal its existence and does not provide appropriate judicial oversight.

“The House Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee took a step forward Thursday toward granting habeas corpus rights to detainees at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,” CongressDailyAM (sub. req.) reports. “The bill repeals part of a law enacted late last year, known as the Military Commissions Act, that barred such actions by detainees. The right would not apply to detainees in areas of active combat.”

Scandals

Resigning, not resigning, resigning. Who knows. Sen. Larry Craig and the GOP continue to flip-flop over his “wide-stance” in a men’s bathroom at the Minneapolis airport. “Idaho’s senior Republican congressman called on Sen. Larry Craig on Thursday to make it clear he will leave his seat by Sept. 30, as GOP leaders sought to remove any doubt that the embattled senator will resign within weeks,” the USA Today reports.

“Disgraced Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu was arrested in Colorado late Thursday after he failed to show up for a court appearance related to a felony theft conviction,” the AP reports. “FBI agents took Hsu into custody at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo.” Presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) said she plans to give to charity the $23,000 her campaign received from Hsu.

Freedom of Speech - George Bush Style

(Update below)

John F. Kennedy said, ?We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.?

In the words of Lloyd Bentsen, George Bush is no Jack Kennedy.

The White House has a formal policy manual that details precisely how to mitigate people who are not “extremely supportive of the Administration” publicly. (Their emphasis, not mine)

Whenever the president makes a public appearance, it has long since been White House policy to forbid the public from displaying or expressing dissent in any form against the president or his views. That includes the area, within one-half mile from where the president may speak and anywhere along the route which he may travel to appear in public. If you’re not a good Bushie, cheering him on and waving pro-Bush banners, you will likely find yourself thrown in prison.

People were thrown in jail in 2004 (and many before and since I’m sure) for wearing anti-Bush T-shirts to a public event Bush attended. Those arrested at the event subsequently filed a lawsuit and were recently able to obtain an official White House policy and procedure manual for “‘deterring potential protestors’ [sic] from President Bush’s public appearances around the country.”

The “Presidential Advance Manual” specifies, according to the Washington Post:

Any event must be open only to those with tickets tightly controlled by organizers. Those entering must be screened in case they are hiding secret signs. Any anti-Bush demonstrators who manage to get in anyway should be shouted down by “rally squads” stationed in strategic locations. And if that does not work, they should be thrown out. (Emphasis added.)

…Designate a protest area where demonstrators can be placed, preferably not in the view of the event site or motorcade route. (Ed. Note: I have read in other press accounts, the ‘protest area’ must be no less than one-half mile from the location of the president.)

To counter any demonstrators…teams are told to create “rally squads” of volunteers with large hand-held signs, placards or banners with “favorable messages.” Squads should be placed in strategic locations and “at least one squad should be ‘roaming’ throughout the perimeter of the event to look for potential problems,” the manual says.

“These squads should be instructed always to look for demonstrators,” it says. “The rally squad’s task is to use their signs and banners as shields between the demonstrators and the main press platform. If the demonstrators are yelling, rally squads can begin and lead supportive chants to drown out the protestors (USA!, USA!, USA!). As a last resort, security should remove the demonstrators from the event site.”

In a recent post I said, “Upon taking office in 2001, George Bush and unitary executive Dick Cheney, began the systematic corruption and dismantling, wherever possible, of the United States Constitution and the principles of democracy that have defined our country for more than 220 years.” Few could argue that is an inaccurate statement.

Late Update: Download a copy of the Presidential Advance Manual