Nixon Was Bad. These Guys Are Worse.
By George McGovern
Sunday, January 6, 2008; Page B01
As we enter the eighth year of the Bush-Cheney administration, I have belatedly and painfully concluded that the only honorable course for me is to urge the impeachment of the president and the vice president. (a perfectly sound decision if your a senile ole loon on the left)
After the 1972 presidential election, I stood clear of calls to impeach President Richard M. Nixon for his misconduct during the campaign. I thought that my joining the impeachment effort would be seen as an expression of personal vengeance toward the president who had defeated me. (which of course would have been true)
Today I have made a different choice.
Of course, there seems to be little bipartisan support for impeachment. The political scene is marked by narrow and sometimes superficial partisanship, especially among Republicans, and a lack of courage and statesmanship on the part of too many Democratic politicians. So the chances of a bipartisan impeachment and conviction are not promising. (the lack of any basis in reality to support impeachment may also be a factor)
But what are the facts? (here we go rehashed lies and innuendo that has all been disproved)
Bush and Cheney are clearly guilty of numerous impeachable offenses. They have repeatedly violated the Constitution. They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time. Their conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world. These are truly "high crimes and misdemeanors," to use the constitutional standard. (these are all the same delusional talking points that have been regurgitated from the beginning. Every one of these allegations have been investigated several times and all have been proven to be false accusations)
From the beginning, the Bush-Cheney team's assumption of power was the product of questionable elections that probably should have been officially challenged -- perhaps even by a congressional investigation. (they were challenged and they were investigated, and recounted several times. Each time the results of the election were verified as accurate. Gore lost and Kerry lost, this is the keystone in the lefts delusion. They can't get over the fact that they lost TWICE)
In a more fundamental sense, American democracy has been derailed throughout the Bush-Cheney regime. The dominant commitment of the administration has been a murderous, illegal, nonsensical war against Iraq. That irresponsible venture has killed almost 4,000 Americans, left many times that number mentally or physically crippled, claimed the lives of an estimated 600,000 Iraqis (according to a careful October 2006 study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) and laid waste their country. The financial cost to the United States is now $250 million a day and is expected to exceed a total of $1 trillion, most of which we have borrowed from the Chinese and others as our national debt has now climbed above $9 trillion -- by far the highest in our national history. (The fact that this Old ASSHOLE can call the defense of our country "a murderous, illegal, nonsensical war against Iraq" speaks volumes to his lack of a grasp on reality. First of all the Bush/Cheney Administration is just that an administration NOT a Regime. Second this WAR is NOT murderous people die in war it is wars purpose to kill the enemy and break their equipment. It is NOT Illegal CONGRESS VOTED and APPROVED military action GIVING the President authority to use his WAR POWERS. As far as being nonsensical, it would be NONSENSICAL to leave a "regime" in power in Iraq that possessed 7 TONS of refined Uranium, and several TONS of Biological weapons that had a PROVEN track record of supplying TERRORISTS with money and support and a stated desire to destroy the US. It was Bill Clinton's lack of action dealing with potential threats that led to 9/11. As for the deficit it is NOT caused by the war it is caused by the SPENDING of our tax dollars by the Drunks we have elected to Congress)
All of this has been done without the declaration of war from Congress that the Constitution clearly requires, in defiance of the U.N. Charter and in violation of international law. This reckless disregard for life and property, as well as constitutional law, has been accompanied by the abuse of prisoners, including systematic torture, in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. (Congress gave the authority, if they could not muster the balls to call it a declaration of war even after 3000 Americans lay dead in the street that is their failure. The actions against Iraq were authorized by the resolutions 17 of them in fact that the UN had already passed against Iraq. No International law was violated. Which is why he doesn't state one here)
I have not been heavily involved in singing the praises of the Nixon administration. But the case for impeaching Bush and Cheney is far stronger than was the case against Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew after the 1972 election. The nation would be much more secure and productive under a Nixon presidency than with Bush. Indeed, has any administration in our national history been so damaging as the Bush-Cheney era? (yes two that I can think of Carters administration, and Bill Clinton's administration. Both administration led to the war that we are no involved in.)
How could a once-admired, great nation fall into such a quagmire of killing, immorality and lawlessness? (that statement is the cantankerous remark of a bitter old man)
It happened in part because the Bush-Cheney team repeatedly deceived Congress, the press and the public into believing that Saddam Hussein had nuclear arms and other horrifying banned weapons that were an "imminent threat" to the United States. The administration also led the public to believe that Iraq was involved in the 9/11 attacks -- another blatant falsehood. Many times in recent years, I have recalled Jefferson's observation: "Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just." (This whole paragraph is a repeat of lies. First of all 7 TONS of refined uranium has been removed from Iraq. And the Administration stated OVER and OVER that Iraq was NOT involved in 9/11, but they were a threat that could not be allowed to continue, and the Congress AGREED.)
The basic strategy of the administration has been to encourage a climate of fear, letting it exploit the 2001 al-Qaeda attacks not only to justify the invasion of Iraq but also to excuse such dangerous misbehavior as the illegal tapping of our telephones by government agents. The same fear-mongering has led government spokesmen and cooperative members of the press to imply that we are at war with the entire Arab and Muslim world -- more than a billion people. (more delusional Bullshit)
Another shocking perversion has been the shipping of prisoners scooped off the streets of Afghanistan to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and other countries without benefit of our time-tested laws of habeas corpus. (habeas corpus does NOT apply to ILLEGAL COMBATENTS in War you ASS)
Although the president was advised by the intelligence agencies last August that Iran had no program to develop nuclear weapons, he continued to lie to the country and the world. This is the same strategy of deception that brought us into war in the Arabian Desert and could lead us into an unjustified invasion of Iran. I can say with some professional knowledge and experience that if Bush invades yet another Muslim oil state, it would mark the end of U.S. influence in the crucial Middle East for decades. (No he was told that when we invaded Iraq, Iran stopped building the BOMB COMPONENTS needed for a nuclear bomb. Instead as the Iranians themselves have stated repeatedly they switched to the other piece they needed, REFINING URANIUM to WEAPONS GRADE LEVELS. They can buy the hardware from the N Koreans that Bill Clinton allowed them to develop. Other than being a failed Politician what professional knowledge do you posses on anything, let alone how the Arab world will react to us removing the threat from the Persians?)
Ironically, while Bush and Cheney made counterterrorism the battle cry of their administration, their policies -- especially the war in Iraq -- have increased the terrorist threat and reduced the security of the United States. Consider the difference between the policies of the first President Bush and those of his son. When the Iraqi army marched into Kuwait in August 1990, President George H.W. Bush gathered the support of the entire world, including the United Nations, the European Union and most of the Arab League, to quickly expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The Saudis and Japanese paid most of the cost. Instead of getting bogged down in a costly occupation, the administration established a policy of containing the Baathist regime with international arms inspectors, no-fly zones and economic sanctions. Iraq was left as a stable country with little or no capacity to threaten others. (yeah we are less secure that's why we have had no terror attacks here in the US and several that have been foiled)
Today, after five years of clumsy, mistaken policies and U.S. military occupation, Iraq has become a breeding ground of terrorism and bloody civil strife. It is no secret that former president Bush, his secretary of state, James A. Baker III, and his national security adviser, Gen. Brent Scowcroft, all opposed the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq. (yeah yeah it's a civil war and we've created more terrorists. Same bullshit that the anti-war wackos have been spewing for years. The only problem is there are no facts to substantiate that point of view. The facts on the ground show the complete opposite, but like I said reality means nothing to those like McGovern who can't wipe the foam from their mouths long enough to stop spewing mad drivel)
In addition to the shocking breakdown of presidential legal and moral responsibility, there is the scandalous neglect and mishandling of the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe. The veteran CNN commentator Jack Cafferty condenses it to a sentence: "I have never ever seen anything as badly bungled and poorly handled as this situation in New Orleans." Any impeachment proceeding must include a careful and critical look at the collapse of presidential leadership in response to perhaps the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. (The disaster that was Katrina was a failure of State and Local government. Mississippi which got hit harder than New Orleans had no problems in responding to the aftermath. Only the Incompetence of the Democrat Welfare State of Louisiana collapsed when they had to actually do some things for themselves. And following the Democrat Welfare State play book immediately placed blame on everyone but themselves. Maybe that's why they have a new Governor.)
Impeachment is unlikely, of course. But we must still urge Congress to act. Impeachment, quite simply, is the procedure written into the Constitution to deal with presidents who violate the Constitution and the laws of the land. It is also a way to signal to the American people and the world that some of us feel strongly enough about the present drift of our country to support the impeachment of the false prophets who have led us astray. This, I believe, is the rightful course for an American patriot. (The PROPER Course of an American Patriot would be to take a stand and State the Policies they believe would be better to deal with the Terrorists in a war where even if we withdraw they will continue to attack us. If you have a plan to prevent that other than Surrender Share IT or SHUT UP)
As former representative Elizabeth Holtzman, who played a key role in the Nixon impeachment proceedings, wrote two years ago, "it wasn't until the most recent revelations that President Bush directed the wiretapping of hundreds, possibly thousands, of Americans, in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) -- and argued that, as Commander in Chief, he had the right in the interests of national security to override our country's laws -- that I felt the same sinking feeling in my stomach as I did during Watergate. . . . A President, any President, who maintains that he is above the law -- and repeatedly violates the law -- thereby commits high crimes and misdemeanors." (FISA was designed to prevent Presidents from spying on their POLITICAL enemies, NOT to prevent them from spying on the COUNTRIES enemies that are plotting to kill us here inside the US. You are a fool that would see our children DIE in the streets rather than engage the enemy)
I believe we have a chance to heal the wounds the nation has suffered in the opening decade of the 21st century. This recovery may take a generation and will depend on the election of a series of rational presidents and Congresses. At age 85, I won't be around to witness the completion of the difficult rebuilding of our sorely damaged country, but I'd like to hold on long enough to see the healing begin. (Good Bye Good Riddance, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. Your an Old Idiot that should be laughed at every time you venture out of your nurses care)
There has never been a day in my adult life when I would not have sacrificed that life to save the United States from genuine danger, such as the ones we faced when I served as a bomber pilot in World War II. We must be a great nation because from time to time, we make gigantic blunders, but so far, we have survived and recovered. (We thank God that you were never elected President, because even though this administration has made mistakes the things you advocate would lead to the blood of our children flowing in the streets of America)
anmcgove@dwu.edu
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