All the scandals have evaporated into an overload of nothingness?

[kentuck]

It seems to me that we have reported and commented on at least one scandal a week for the last three years, many which would have created calls for impeachment and worse, and nothing seems to matter anymore. Is it "scandal fatigue"? After all the deaths from lying about going to war, to torture, to deceiving the American people, to pronouncements of nuclear bombs, etc, nobody seems to care.

What should we do? Just sit back and see what happens next? Surely there will be another bombshell before this next week is over? But will it matter? Laws are meaningless. There is no truth. Everything must be fair and balanced. He said this. She said that. And nothing is ever settled? What else can you do?

[saltpoint]

1. To use just one example, I'd give a lot of credit to Fitzgerald and his

team so far.

And that 'so far' is key. There are likely more revelations and the little elves are telling me that things aren't looking all that good for Dubya and Uncle Dick.

[kentuck]

3. But that seems so trivial in respect to....

all the other crimes that have been committed and should be prosecuted. It's like convicting someone for stealing a cookie after they robbed the bank...

[saltpoint]

9. Well I'd surely like to see a wholesale judgment brought against this

band of thieves and liars, which is why the 06 House needs to flip blue.

That's a huge project and worth our sweat and toil.

With a Democratic majority in the House, more key papers can be subpoena'd in support of articles of impeachment.

And one John Conyers would be the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee.

It's a good goal.

[kentuck]

13. But they want to take that seat from Conyers, even if Democrats win...

that's why they have attacked him. It will be difficult to find another Democrat that would his aggressive style. Of course, if they can minimize him between now and November, they may be able to make him appear totally incredible and not believable enough to run an investigation. They are a slick bunch.

[saltpoint]

15. They are a slick bunch, true. The slickest I've ever seen. But Conyers'

seat is safe and if we can turn the House of Representatives blue, his voice will be far louder than it is now.

And he's worth the fight, too.

[kentuck]

18. Yes, his seat is safe but...

their strategy would be to discredit him before the hearings start to somehow minimize his efforts - not to defeat him in his election bid.

[saltpoint]

20. I agree that that is exactly what they might wish to do, and are even

trying to do it outright, but it isn't working.

The Democratic House leadership will stand firmly and enthusiastically behind Conyers, and he has the support of everybody who owns a liberal blog (not that many 4 years ago, but quite a lot now), and the momentum to subpoena those documents will be formidable.

Rove likes to smear people, but Mr. Fitzgerald may be putting a swifter end to Mr. Rove's career as the president's advisor than Mr. Rove currently believes. He appears to have escaped indictment. For the time being. But I don't thik Fitz is done yet, and so I don't think Rove is safe yet.

[kentuck]

23. "The Democratic House leadership will stand firmly and enthusiastically.."

behind Conyers?

ANd that is where I lose faith.

[saltpoint]

28. Well, I urge you to regain that faith. We still have a constitutional

democracy and I like Nancy Pelosi a hell of a lot better than Tom DeLay or Denny Hastert.

With a blue majority in the U.S. House, we get much-heightened roles for Pelosi and Conyers etc.

[darkmaestro019]

11. It does--it seems insulting, but--

remember how they (supposedly?) brought down Capone. If they can get them on ANYTHING I'm in favor of it. If it looks provable in court, take it.

[saltpoint]

16. Hi, darkmaestro019. A good point there on Capone and the way

the Feds got him when they couldn't get him on their original charges.

Also I think your association of this administration with one of the most notorious and ruthless and bloodthirsty and unethical human beings in history is ENTIRELY appropriate. Bless ya for it.

There are likely people in Washington right now who know things I do not know and have no way of knowing. but they may have knowledge of what is about to happen to the administration. The CIA and other agencies must have some folks whose service to the nation has been long-standing and sterling, and my hunch is they don't like being blamed by a deceitful pseudo-cowboy for an ill-begotten war.

And I don't blame 'em one bit.

I think the next several months are going to be very revealing and not very smooth for the Bush administration.

[deutsey]

2. We've got to keep informed and keep speaking the truth

However, we also have to realize that we may not "get to the promised land," as Dr. King said the night before he was killed. The important thing is to do what we can and pass it on to the next generation to help them continue the fight.

[TayTay]

4. It depends on what you are looking for

If you are expecting people in the streets, well there were these huge demostrations recently that were activated directly by the Republican Immigration Bill in the House and the desire by the demonstrators that it be derailed. Ahm, people took it to the streets.

If you are expecting electoral change, then you can see that the Democrats currently hold their highest percentage in years in terms of who the public would like to see in charge of Congress. This might end up being a 'throw the bums out year' like we had in '04.

In terms of the President, ahm, his polls numbers are incredibly low. He can't get anything done on Social Security, tax deform, etc. He has no political capital. What he constitutionally has is the control of the executive branch and the military. That is where he is going to be doing a lot of damage unless the military itself stops him and the Rethugs in Congress join the Dems and ask for some accountability. (This is unlikely. The Rethugs don't care about accountability, so we need to have electoral change. Which is beginning to seem more and more likely.)

We always complain that the media is in conservative hands. Well it is. They are not going to make it easy to report on all the bad things beseiging this dying Presidency. But those bad things are there and they are eating away at this Presidency and his Party.

That is good news. The message is getting through to the people.

[Singular73]

5. 36% and Republicans running for the hills.

Its called elections people.

Thats what "happens" with big scandals.

[kentuck]

8. Do we need to be more on the attack or just lay back...

and watch the Republicons self-destruct? I fear the latter and I don't think that will happen because they are too good at media manipulation and propaganda. I think we need to be more aggressive in our attacks. Yeah, Harry Reid came back on Bush yesterday...sort of... but he could have knocked him out...

[Dhalgren]

6. It isn't scandal fatigue, it is collusion and apathy.

The government id filled with criminals or they are in collusion with them and the general population is either too ignorant, too apathetic, or too venial to be concerned about the loss of our democracy. The population isn't tired of the scandals, they just don't care. And I have no idea what to do to make them care, nor can I predict where this will all end - except in misery...

[Joe Fields]

7. Sadly, I agree with your assessment.

I believe we, as a nation are numb from scandal, and I too wonder what it will take for us to wake up and demand an honest government.

[Crazy Dave]

10. As a nation....

...the majority of US citizens have short term memories to our political leader's advantage and therefore they are also easily distracted and ordered to be outraged and to commit all their emotions and efforts at non-issues.

[kurth]

12. The only thing that works is JUDICIAL proceedings

Indictments, arrests, trials, convictions, whatever to get their filthy corrupt asses outta there. Impeachments work too.

Otherwise, it's just talk - going in one ear and out the other. Nothing gets changed.

[PATRICK]

14. Power and media

still squatting over America. If you keep pouring sugar water into the engine of democracy and public opinion you can't ever start the engine no matter how full it gets. We have a de facto dictatorship the way things are structured except for the islands, the oases, the archipelago of real law and real accountability. Bush understands that, which is why he is going ahead, unchanged, with a war crime against the next oil nation on the agenda. He can do that. In order for him to be physically stopped, people physically have to rise up, at least into the streets or remorselessly bombard the media. The system in place has done almost as much as it can do with the sole hope reserved for small unresolved accountability processes such as Fitzpatrick- maybe only Fitzpatrick. Opposition party, factual reporting and exposures, whistle-blowers, the approbation of the world, mind-numbing failures and atrocities, have not been enough in themselves, nor the poll shift nor the fears of hamstrung GOP officials.

The very play that says the fault lies not in the stars but ourselves was a model of tragedy and indecision, however clear the logic. We can end this, but we are divided isolated and clearly in doubt if we believe the truth doesn't matter and the failure of the American system makes the people who give it its sole legitimacy helpless.

The reality is that both our opposition and reality itself is chipping away and pushing at this frustration. The reality is that we don't know the results and the crises and atrocities keep coming until the day when they either end in chaos or by the collective action of all- or some- of the just Americans.

[nancyr]

17. scandals

I agree with you totally.....no-one seems to even care anymore. Endless scandals, each of which should be worthy of impeachment, and nothing ever happens! It's simply business as usual among both parties while they're merrily ruining our country. This country has been destroyed and it's as though no-one has noticed. It makes me cry.

[Murdock]

19. It's the Daou Cycle...

http://daoureport.salon.com/synopsis.aspx?synopsisId=a6da2e05-c808-4f7e-9ab2-3d2a01a82a15

Step by step, what happens and how it fades..

[leftofthedial]

21. short of citizens taking to the streets in armed revolt

or in mass acts of civil disobedience

what would we expect? 2000 was a coup.

[SoCalDem]

22. Too many of them only dilute the field, and make the pursuit of them

"seem" like "piling on".... That's the beauty of Rovian thinking. Make the obscenities BIG, UGLY, and PERSISTANT.. At some point it just becomes TOO HARD to follow all the leads.

Watergate was a singular event/scandal, and congress lumped all the related issues into hearings, but without the congressional hearings on corruption, each transgression must be aired separately, and either on-air or in print, so "bias" can be called on anyone who dares to report it.

The witch hunt during the Clinton era proves how unsuccessful a multiple approach can be. They threw everything at Clinton, but only the "Monica" issue stuck...why? because it was easy to focus on, and he was compelled to go to court..

Until we see congressional hearings and court (under oath), little will happen..

Bush can live with bad poll ratings, because at the end of the day, he still has his war, and has his hands on the nation's bank account..

[savemefromdumbya]

24. It seems that there are too many scandals for the media

so they ignore.

[kentuck]

27. Why can't they just wrap them up into one big bundle and call it....

Lies.

[Arkansas Granny]

25. I'm hoping that the '06 elections will mark a turning point. If

Democrats take over the House and make gains in the Senate, there is a possibility of slowing down the train wreck of the Bush Presidency. It will take, IMO, decades to reverse the damage he has done to our country and our children and grandchildren will pay dearly for this.

I truly believe that the only reason Bush hasn't been impeached so far is because Republicans control both houses of Congress, as it is abundantly clear that he has committed impeachable offenses. When history is written, he is sure to go down as the worst President ever.

[H2O Man]

26. Pitiful. n/t