True Colors
Apparently the honeymoon is over. The conservatives have raised their ugly heads and we are going to see how they will work to make sure that change will not be easy. Today was the tip of the iceberg, but you can expect much more. First there was a delay by Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) of Hillary Clinton’s nomination to Secretary of State. He got nothing tangible, and she was confirmed, but he probably made points with the right wing wing-nuts that form his base. Oh his argument sounded minimally reasonable, that he was just protecting the nation from possible influence by contributors to her husband’s activities, but the reality here is that he was probably curing favor among the Hillary haters in his party. So much for getting a team in place and start working on our problems.
But wait, there is more. President Barack Obama’s Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner faces grilling by the Republicans. Now I will give them their due here in that failing to pay income taxes is a big boo-boo, and even more troubling is his part in the original failures in the financial markets and his role in the Bush administration’s bail out. But the arguments in his favor are that he knows how this system works and maybe how to control it. So with some dithering, he will be confirmed. They just want to make it hard under the guise of asking all the right questions.
But here is where the conservative’s real colors come out and that is the confirmation of Eric Holder for Attorney General. The Attorney Generals Office is where the Bush Administration did real damage to our democracy because they subverted justice. It needs fixing fast. This is the office that justified torture, politicized its attorneys, and used the rule of law to try to subvert elections. Eric Holder was doing fine until he told the truth: Water boarding is torture. Unlike his predecessor who they loved, he knows torture when he sees it. Uh-oh. Cat is out of the bag.
So what the conservatives really want is an agreement that Holder will not prosecute. Now the dance they will perform is that good people doing what they thought was right in difficult circumstances should not be punished, let’s move on. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (another Texas Neanderthal) tried misdirection saying she is concerned about Holder’s stand on guns and the 2nd Amendment, and they need to ask more questions. This one is total misdirection. The issue is torture and they want to delay till they get an agreement not to prosecute. And that would be a great big mistake, but let me explain by letting you hear how I think Mr. Holder should answer their new questions:
Senator Foghorn Leghorn (Senator Mitch McConnell/Arlen Spector, take your pick): Mr. Holder, do you really think laws were broken?
Eric Holder: Well Senator Leghorn, like my predecessor Judge Mulcasey who couldn’t really decide if water boarding is torture until he had studied it which you guys seem to like just fine, I can’t tell if laws were broken till I investigate what really happened and I can’t do that till you confirm me.
Senator Leghorn: Well Mr. Holder, certainly you understand that good people were just trying to do their job and we don’t need to prosecute those that just thought they were following orders?
Eric Holder: Well Senator Leghorn, I believe that it is my job to enforce the law. Are you saying that the law doesn’t apply to some people and I should pick and choose which laws I should enforce?
Senator Leghorn: No, No, of course not Mr. Holder, but surely you understand that people were just trying to do the right thing.
Eric Holder: I believe that we must investigate what really happened. Then based upon the facts we will decide who knowingly broke laws and who thought they were following legal orders and then take the appropriate action. To do anything else would be to ignore my responsibility as Attorney General. Is that what you are asking me to do Senator? Don’t you think the law applies to everyone?
Senator Leghorn: Yes, Yes, of course Mr. Holder, but I have to tell you that because of your stand on the 2nd amendment I will have to vote against you.
Eric Holder: But Senator Leghorn, there are no issues before the justice department that impact the 2nd Amendment and the Supreme Court has ruled in the Washington D.C. case.
Senator Leghorn: Are you challenging my authority?
Well you get the drift. These guys don’t want to hold anyone accountable, especially if they were carrying out what these guys facilitated. Truth is a little inconvenient so lets just ignore it. They really don’t want change. They want things back the way they use to be. You have seen nothing yet. Wait till we get to discussing the bailout package. At least Rush Limbaugh was honest today when he said he wanted to see President Obama fail. They are a great bunch aren’t they?