King George

Late as ever the New York Times has woken to the real and perhaps permanent damage George Bush has done to America. He has turned back the clock and made himself king … here is their very belated recognition: Just What the Founders Feared: An Imperial President Goes to War

OK. So it’s an Op-Ed article and the Times editors can deny they think along those lines. But, the point is valid. Bush has used arguments to gather power to himself that no one has ever used before. He has basically told Congress to go home and stop annoying him while he conducts policies beyond the reach of “checks and balances”. The famed balance that the founders of the American system of government put in place to prevent the development of a monarchy here have been ridden rough shod over by Bush and Cheney with narry a nod toward the long term significance of their actions.

Everything is deemed secret. Even domestic oil policy. Remember that? The first hint we had of the monarchy was when Dick Cheney declared that his energy policy deliberations were secret. Why? Because discussions about energy with top oil industry executives was in the national interest and therefore subject to executive privilege. The names and experience of the people he talked to were kept secret, and Congress was told to go do something else. Which, being led at that time by loyal “party before country” Republicans it duly did.

Since then, of course we have had the Iraq war. An emerging national disaster for America as its military is bled dry, its reputation ruined, and its influence diminished, the war was started by Bush on trumped up grounds and is now being perpetuated solely so that he can leave the problem to someone else. Our troops are dying so that Bush can try to save some face.

Congress has stepped up its oversight of the Bush junta since last November’s elections when the Democrats rode an anti-war wave to power. Yet their power is limited by the narrowness of their majority in the Senate and the steadfast loyalty that the “party before country” faction within the Republicans. The Democrats have yet to muster a veto proof alliance in the Senate and so are hobbled in their resistance to the monarchy.

The good news is that they are trying. America is supposed to be a democracy. Its leadership is supposed to be responsive to the people. Bush is stunning in his contempt for the people. He no longer tries to hide his disgust for the constitution: his Attorney General has lied openly to Congress – that’s a crime; he has commuted the sentence of a convicted criminal [Scooter Libby] who obstructed justice by lying [and lest any of you think it was a “trumped up charge”: there are many folks in jail right now for exactly the same crime with exactly the same sentence that Libby received from the Republican appointed judge]; he has urged various loyal flunkies not to testify before Congress; he has refused even to talk about why he has ignored legal requests for information; and he has broken the law over his secret police activities here in America.

Now, many loyal Republicans prefer to see this all as a political spat: to them it’s just politics as usual. It isn’t. The current efforts of Congress to rein in Bush are more about defending the Constitution. they are an effort to turn back the monarchy and revert to the old fashioned republican style government the founders envisaged.

I know that the die hard Republican party before country folks won’t listen to that. So here’s a thought: King George has to step down in about a year and a half. Think hard Republican friends, think hard. Help us limit his monarchical urges now! Why? Because he is setting a dangerous precedent. Monarchical governments are hard to get rid of. Stop putting party before country. Desert the King now. Overthrow the monarchy before it takes root!

Before Queen Hillary arrives to turn your worst nightmares into reality!