While We Were Sleeping…
and harrrumphing over the negligible differences between Obama and Hillary, the all-out assault on America continues. The rule of law took another hit thanks to the spineless wonders we call, “Mr./Ms. Senator,” on the FISA vote. They kicked it to the House so they can do the dirty work and in the process, supported amnesty for Bush’s telco co-conspirators.
The second piece of Good News Tuesday is that Supreme Court Justice Anton Scalia took us right back to the Middle Ages in his defense of torture as legally permissible under the Constitution. His arguments may be legally justifiable in the narrowest possible sense, but they are morally reprehensible.
So as we look for leadership, whether it is Hillary or Barack, I think it’s important keep in mind the enormity of the challenges they face. Not only do they have the overwhelming operational challenges of balancing a budget, managing our defense and foreign policy, solving our health care, Social Security and immigration issues, they have to reverse the carnage that has been wrought by Bushco in virtually every institution we value. It’s going to take a lot more than a great speech calling for “hope” and “change.” It’s going to take a lot more than a smug reliance on experience and competence, i.e., been there, done that.
No president has been here before, with the possible exception of Lincoln–and neither Hillary or Barack seem Lincolnesque in the slightest. We have never been so close to the brink of losing everything that makes America, America. Never has the Constitution and the freedoms it protects been so deliberately threatened internally by such an organized, emboldened and committed enemy. More than the war, more than the economy, that’s the real backdrop of this campaign and the bar to which our candidates must be held accountable. Let’s have the issues of executive privilege, of voter’s rights, privacy, torture and the Constitution raised in the debates. Let’s see just how different our “change agents” really are. Truth be told, I think we’d all be disappointed. Think the media will even ask the questions? Fat chance.
Posted: February 12th, 2008 under Ain't That America, Bushco, Democratic Debates, Economics, Hillary, Iraq, Obama.
Comments: 2
Comments
Comment from Josh Hammond
Time: February 12, 2008, 4:04 pm
Lefty, few of us blog with the passion and fury that you do, and this another example. And when you rail against the Bush erosion of morality, justice, civil liberties, civil rights, human rights, and community, you get an amen from me.
However, while I see the urgent need to clean up after Bush and the imperatives of re-managing government, I don’t share your view that all of these matters need immediate attention. For example, Social Security can wait a year. In fact, Hillary says she will do nothing until there is ANOTHER commission. That would take a year before anything is thought through and something proposed, let alone passed. Balancing budgets can wait, in fact, economists argue about the need to do so. Setting fiscal responsibility back on track is the urgent task and fruits of that effort will take a while.
What I see when I consider the mess, I see how Clinton would approach it and how Obama would approach it. How they have managed their campaigns, as I have suggested, is an insight into how they will govern. In my judgment, if Clinton does the cleaning up, she will use much of the same crew that her husband did and it will be seen as a revenge on the Right, evening the score, getting back at foes. It is likely to be public and messy. Clinton also admits and brags at times about her impatience. Not what I would prescribe. By contrast, I see Obama taking a different approach, more collaborative, more balanced, less emphasis on blame and more on fixing things.
I also think that in periously and difficult times, president’s rise to the occasion. Not only Lincoln comes, but also George Washington, Jefferson, FDR, Truman, and LBJ on domestic policy. In my assessment, there is much to hope for and I think that Obama represents the symbolism that is necessary in the world today and the patience and resolve to chart a new course at home.
Comment from Leftcoast
Time: February 12, 2008, 4:37 pm
Thanks Josh. Believe it or not, I actually agree with most of your comments, especially regarding the fact any action Hillary takes against the right would be seen as revenge rather than restorative–great point. However, both candidates are radio-silent on Constitutional issues. IMHO, nothing can be accomplished until we re-establish ourselves as a nation of laws, not men.
And while I hate the acrimony that’s characterized our politics since Nixon, I’m not sure holding hands and building consensus is enough to get that done. The people who seek to destroy America do not want to collaborate, they’re impervious to the will of the people (74% want us out of Iraq right now, and we’re still there) and whether or not we have 4 or 8 years of a Dem presidency, they’re not going away. That said, I’ think we ought to demand that both candidates (again, I agree with your analysis) raise these issues. Had Kerry done so in ‘04 and made the fight personal between himself and Bush, he’d have won. Americans know they’ve been fucked over by Bush for 8 years–the Dem candidates should come out and say it and fix it. Apply the law where and how it fits. That, my friend, would be a change.
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