Political Irony: "If today’s Congress presided during Watergate"

[madfloridian]

Luckovich links to Salon's Greenwald blog.

Accountability Now and Strange Bedfellows: The strategy and rationale

He speaks of the 2006 wins in Congress by Democrats.

He then lists these things which are going on under that congress.

Since that overwhelming Democratic victory, this is what the Democratic-led Congress has done:

Repeatedly funded -- at the White House's insistence -- the Iraq War without conditions;

Defeated -- at the White House's insistence -- Jim Webb's bill to increase the intervals between deployments for U.S. troops;

Defeated -- at the White House's insistence -- a bill to restore habeas corpus, which had been abolished by the Military Commissions Act, enacted before the 2006 election with substantial Democratic and virtually unanimous GOP support;

Enacted -- at the White House's insistence and with substantial Democratic and virtually unanimous Republican support-- the so-called Protect America Act, vesting the President with extreme new warrantless eavesdropping powers;

Overwhelmingly approved the Senate's Kyl-Lieberman Resolution, to declare parts of the Iranian Government a "terrorist organization," an extremely belligerent resolution modeled after those which made "regime change" the official U.S. Government position towards Iraq;

Deleted from a pending bill -- at the direction of the House Democratic leadership and at the insistence of the White House -- a provision merely to require Congressional approval before the Bush administration can attack Iran;

Overwhelmingly enacted -- at the White House's insistence, and with substantial Democratic and virtually unanimous GOP support -- the "FISA Amendments Act of 2008," to vest the President with broad new warrantless eavesdropping powers and to immunize lawbreaking telecoms, all but putting an end to any chance for a real investigation and judicial adjudication of the Bush administration's illegal NSA spying program;

Confirmed, with the indispensable support of two key Democratic Senators, Bush's nominee for Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, despite his support for radical Bush theories of executive power and his refusal to oppose torture;

Stood by passively and impotently while Bush officials flagrantly ignored their Subpoenas and refused to comply with their investigations.

I remember the afternoons in 1973 I watched network TV...every moment of the Watergate hearings. Nixon had to leave office for no more than Bush has done, in fact much less. It irritates me to see this happening.

[Maccagirl]

1. I remember watching the Watergate hearings in '73 also

We got to watch TV instead of reading our history text for a solid quarter-it was a REAL education. The Bushies make the Nixonites look like men of character.

[madfloridian]

2. As a teacher it was my summer break....and I spent most afternoons that way.

My kids watched some of it as well. But it was pretty hard to follow at times.

[Kat45]

12. It was my first year of college, majoring in political science

I loved watching those hearings that summer. It was the best political education one could get.

[Mythsaje]

8. Compared to them, he WAS a man of character...

And if that doesn't frighten the crap out of us, nothing will.

[99th_Monkey]

3. Ding!! Ding!! Ding!! - we have a winner!!!

K fuckin' R

:kick:

[crimsonblue]

4. what's ironic

is that i pointed this out on dKos and got flamed as a troll... sigh... at least the parties don't pretend to not be the same side of the coin anymore....

[Hydra]

6. Ya

Disturbing how they aren't even playing the polite fiction anymore, isn't it?

[Hydra]

5. I can't believe we even have to post this

What Bush is doing makes Watergate look like a picnic...and yet people are SCREAMING that we must support our Dems as they help Bush become more and more above the law.

I half expect Congress to tell Bush that he can stay in the WH for another 4 years. "Be our guest!"

[madfloridian]

7. Today at Salon...

the post by Greenwald is devastating.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/07/15/complicity/index.html

Watergate, frankly, was nothing at all compared to invading a country on lies, killing civilians, torturing, lying about war...all out in the open and public.

[defendandprotect]

17. We have the wisdom of the ages as a guide --- the Geneva Accords ---

and two women fail to tell the 9/11 neo-cons that it should be follolwed --- !!!

Oh, my heart!!!

Well, women brought up in a patriarchy aren't going to immediately find themselves . . .

I presume???


Fears of the "Mommy Party" vs "Daddy Party" syndrome . . . ???

[Bandit]

9. Congress's approval at a dismal 9% and I would bet it's going lower.

No one seems to approve of them, neither Democrats or Republicans..yet they will pretty much all be re-elected..Something is definitely wrong with this picture..

[madfloridian]

10. Words of Jane Mayer today at the WP chat....via Salon.

"UPDATE: Jane Mayer appeared for a Washington Post chat today and the following exchange occurred:

New York, N.Y.: In your interview with Harper's yesterday, you said this about why war crimes prosecutions are unlikely: "An additional complicating factor is that key members of Congress sanctioned this program, so many of those who might ordinarily be counted on to lead the charge are themselves compromised."

What did you mean by that? Who specifically is compromised "who might ordinarily be counted on to lead the charge" -- Nancy Pelosi, Jane Harman, Jay Rockefeller? -- and how are they "compromised"?

Jane Mayer: The ranking members of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees were briefed dozens of times about the CIA's interrogation and detention program over the past seven years -- so any member who has held one of those posts has arguably been complicit. Some say they tried to object, internally. But either because of the threat of violating national security, or, because of the fear of the political price of dissent, these figures in both parties would find it very hard at this point to point the finger at the White House, without also implicating themselves."

That's rather definitive. Nancy Pelosi, Jane Harman and Jay Rockefeller were all previous ranking members of the Intelligence Committee, all received these briefings, and were thus "compromised" and "complicit" in exactly the way that Mayer just described, because -- as Mayer put it -- they "would find it very hard at this point to point the finger at the White House, without also implicating themselves." That is one very significant reason why so many Congressional Democrats -- including the leadership -- are so supportive of immunity for Bush lawbreakers and the blocking of any investigations into the lawbreaking."

[mmm413]

11. I was pregnant in 1973 during the hearings.

I watched them from beginning to end every day. Drove my mother-in-law crazy b/c I wouldn't answer the phone. I remember when Alexander Butterfield, on July 16 (tomorrow), testified about Nixon's tapings in the Oval Office. It was electrifying. Of course, the Committee and staff knew about it already, but the American people didn't. It is amazing that Nixon resigned and Bush still goes on his happy way. Bush makes Nixon look like a piker. It (almost) makes me sad that Nixon had to resign from the office he coveted all his life. Bush could've really cared less and his attitude is very obvious. Asshole.

[madfloridian]

13. Well said. Bush does make Nixon look good. He really does.

Those hearings shocked me so....and now I am beyond that into sickened.

And the media protects him. Now they are protecting McCain the same way. I don't know how those talking heads keep from laughing at those two men.

[defendandprotect]

18. Well, Bush is an outlaw . . . but so was Nixon . . .

We still don't know all that was behind Watergate . . .
but it had a great deal to do with spying on Democrats and fear
that Democrats had information that, perhaps, could have led
to answers re the JFK assassination/coup on US government . . .
and they were trying to plant "evidence" which would implicate
the Democrats in taking money from the Russian communists.


We don't know all about Nixon ...
But, we do know he was solicited by businessmen who likely were behind
support for Hitler and the plot to assassinate FDR.

Nixon is also linked to the coup on JFK.

While Ike was being betrayed by Pentagon and Intelligence people, Nixon
seemed to be working with them --- especially when Ike was hospitalized.
Nixon played a large role in the planning of the Bay of Pigs ---
then called "Operation 40."
Of course, Jack Ruby, was involved in the Bay of Pigs planning and details.

Nixon was quite dirty coming up -- from his HUAC days and his attacks on Hiss --
we now know that Nixon was linked at that time to Jack Ruby -- which creates
many questions re the legitimacy of anything that happened re Hiss at that time --
including questions as to whether they created a "typewriter" . . . ????

Even re the Vietnam war --- there are questions as to Nixon's involvement in the
Gulf of Tonkin hoax. But, Nixon certainly kept the Vietnam War going for those
who want "perpetual" war.

We have Nixon to thank for this phony War on Drugs --- and it was directed
toward criminalizing the "black" population.

I wouldn't let go of Nixon yet as a strong thread to the evil and violence and
corruption we're experiencing now. Nor Poppy Bush ... who helped us rid ourselves
of the "Vietnam Syndrome."


PS: How could I fail to mention Nixon's dirty work re our elections . . . ???

[rambler_american]

14. No sense of shame

This Congress has no sense of shame and no concept of morality.

[ElboRuum]

15. It's becoming increasingly apparent...

...that very few in the capital can be called upon to do their jobs so long as complicity (as some have suggested) can be of issue.

I've said it before, impeachment isn't off the table because of any particular expedient except the fact that Pelosi et. al. are afraid that the microscope could be focused on them.

[defendandprotect]

16. Great cartoon . . .!!! And so true . . . !!!

[bdamomma]

19. "If today’s Congress presided during Watergate"

cheney would of had his wetdream come true. and the PNAC nightmare would of been acted upon a long time ago.