Glen Greenwald: Congressional Republicans suddenly discover the need for oversight

[babylonsister]

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/

Congressional Republicans suddenly discover the need for oversight


snip//

Of course, this sudden discovery of the need for oversight was prompted only by highly public revelations of abuse. And the reason why all of this happened -- and this is but a tiny fraction of the lawbreaking and abuse going on -- is because Congressional Republicans spent the last six years purposely allowing the Executive branch to accumulate unlimited amounts of unchecked power, while they blocked every attempt (most of which were lame and half-hearted) by Congressional Democrats to exert oversight over how these powers were used.

Thus, the very same Congressional Republican caucus now pretending to be so shocked and upset over these abuses were the ones who spent the last six years enabling these very abuses. They vested these powers and then completely abdicated their responsibilities to exercise oversight.

And it was not mere abdication of their responsibilities of which they are guilty, but worse still, all-out attacks on those who warned of the dangers of allowing the Executive to exercise unchecked surveillance and other powers over Americans. Just look at the quotes from these Republican Congressmen -- "Do we have that many potential terrorists running around the country? If so, I'm really worried"; "America may be less safe, but the Constitution will be more secure" -- which are rather similar to the arguments made over the last six years by opponents of unchecked executive power.

Over the last six years, people who voiced these objections were repeatedly accused -- by Congressional Republicans and their party -- of being advocates of Terrorist Rights and being Allies of Al Qaeda as a result of those objections. Yet these are the same objections which Congressional Republicans -- now that the FBI's abuses have become inescapably clear -- are voicing in order to transform themselves from Guilty Parties into shocked and disappointed victims.

These are the same people who defended the President's right to eavesdrop on the telephone conversations of Americans in secret and with no oversight even though the law made that a felony, and then voted to legalize that unchecked eavesdropping. They did not want to investigate any reports of illegal behavior on the part of the administration with regard to a whole slew of abuses.

snip//

[MADem]

1. Awww, come on, the Republicans were into oversight!! They were all concerned about STEROIDS in

baseball, after all...while kids were dying in EyeRack, they were worried about juiced athletes!!! Hell, they broke into regular teevee to show THOSE 'important' hearings!!

But STILL--no network could spare the time to carry Al Gore's environmental testimony LIVE.

[babylonsister]

2. I'm still livid the media whores didn't cover the Plame testimony, yet

they spent a week on ANS. Sigh.

[MADem]

3. The people without CSPAN were totally screwed on that score.

We really do need "over the air" CSPAN. Even if it's on UHF channel God-Knows-What. It's a crime that the "gift" from the cable company is ONLY available to those who subscribe to EXPANDED basic cable. A sin, really.

[EST]

5. And dish/direct satellite.

Of course, in order to get cspin one and two, one has to subscribe to a package beyond basic.

[tulsakatz]

6. I even have digital cable.......

...and I don't even get CSPAN3!! I have to watch it on the internet if I want to watch something on CSPAN3.

I really think it's ridiculous.....I mean, I pay a lot of money for digital cable but I can't get CSPAN3!

[MADem]

7. I used to get it in DC, but here in the home of the cradle of liberty? Fuggedabout it!

Heaven forfend the damned cable baaastids have to give up a channel so we can see government at work! It's bad enough they have to fork over a community channel, so you can see the odd school commmittee meeting!

So don't feel bad, you're not alone.

[tulsakatz]

8. yeah, I know I'm not alone......it just sucks!

I have probably about 500 channels or more on digital cable but they just can't find a place to put another CSPAN channel!

[EST]

4. Born again republickers are so sickening.

Suddenly they are all budget hawks, constitutional scholars and public spirited holier than thou wankers.
We must never let our representatives forget-and they will-that these putrid excrescences from hades are the very worst of anti-American ideologues.
They are not for government by the people, but consider public office to be a reward for party loyalty and for dreaming up new ways to loot the common weal and devise ever worsening ways to add to the suffering of innocents.

People who choose to ally themselves with the republicker criminals are guilty of profound ignorance or are the victims of an anti-social pathology so deeply corrosive as to render them incapable of inclusion in a society of equals.