Krugman: Forgive and Forget? (Hell No)

[Phred42]

Krugman is ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. Obamam MUST investigate AND Prosecute - no pardons.

This is the only way to VALIDATE the Rule Of Law
IF there are no consequences for the Crimes of the past 8 years - Obama will be validating that the United States no longer regognizes Rule Of Law

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Krugman: "I’m sorry, but if we don’t have an inquest into what happened during the Bush years — and nearly everyone has taken Mr. Obama’s remarks to mean that we won’t — this means that those who hold power are indeed above the law because they don’t face any consequences if they abuse their power."

Forgive and Forget?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/opinion/16krugman.html?_r=2&ref=opinion

Last Sunday President-elect Barack Obama was asked whether he would seek an investigation of possible crimes by the Bush administration. “I don’t believe that anybody is above the law,” he responded, but “we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards.”

I’m sorry, but if we don’t have an inquest into what happened during the Bush years — and nearly everyone has taken Mr. Obama’s remarks to mean that we won’t — this means that those who hold power are indeed above the law because they don’t face any consequences if they abuse their power.

Let’s be clear what we’re talking about here. It’s not just torture and illegal wiretapping, whose perpetrators claim, however implausibly, that they were patriots acting to defend the nation’s security. The fact is that the Bush administration’s abuses extended from environmental policy to voting rights. And most of the abuses involved using the power of government to reward political friends and punish political enemies.

At the Justice Department, for example, political appointees illegally reserved nonpolitical positions for “right-thinking Americans” — their term, not mine — and there’s strong evidence that officials used their positions both to undermine the protection of minority voting rights and to persecute Democratic politicians.

The hiring process at Justice echoed the hiring process during the occupation of Iraq — an occupation whose success was supposedly essential to national security — in which applicants were judged by their politics, their personal loyalty to President Bush and, according to some reports, by their views on Roe v. Wade, rather than by their ability to do the job.......more

[MichiganVote]

1. Follow the money.

[Phred42]

2. Among other things - YEP!

following the money is a great place to start. But this time the corruption is so deep and wide that things other than money must be followed.

:toast:

[notesdev]

3. Krugman is right on this one

Maybe he'd better stick to politics and leave economics for people who understand how money works.

[KoKo]

4. Krugman nails it. It's not only the torture....it's all the rest of it

Bush really ran a criminal enterprise and what he and his cronies didn't personally oversee the deregulation with lack of oversight allowed to run amok still makes them further complicit in the disastrous situation this country is in right now.

[patrice]

6. malfeasance

[rosesaylavee]

5. I am hopeful that Obama thinks the same

but it will be the Attorney General pursuing this - not him. Politically, he can't be seen as beiug about ready to lower the boom on the criminals even before he gets in office. Better to keep them dangling out there, unsure of their future. And why give Bush a laundry list prior to his leaving office that he could add to his pardons?

I hope and I pray that the rule of law will be upheld and we won't have to see these people pop up in a later administration.

[keepthemhonest]

13. I hope you are right about that.

He seems like a just person so I don't see how he can ignore it.


I went to change.gov and recommended all of the ideas that had to do with investigated Bush and Co. One of them is on page three woohoo.I can't believe legalizing pot( although I am for that) is more important to people then justice being served to "The criminals."

[rosesaylavee]

14. That site is hard to navigate.

I think most people do like I do, just wade thru page after page voting up or down ideas with never seeing the whole selection.

I think the mj issue has a lot to do with the millions incarcerated because of it and the cost in human lives and institutionally that points to us legalizing it. I don't use but highly support that issue.

[fasttense]

7. This stupid meme of "look forward not backward" first came out of Sarah Palin's mouth.

Now you hear it from Obama. There is something wrong with this meme if Palin first brought it out.

She said it to Joe Bidden in their VP debate. "There you go again Joe, looking backward not forward and also, wink, wink." (well maybe, those weren't her exact words but it's close.)

So why is everyone going around quoting a known imbecile, 2nd place beauty queen, failed VP candidate and moose gutting, wolf hunter? If she said it, it must be wrong!!!!

And also....

Notice how the law breaking of the imperial presidency slowly escalates as each new Republicon president gets into office starting with Nixon. Raygun's law breaking picked up where Nixon's left off, Bush I's law breaking picks up where Raygun left off, bush II has taken it the farthest and built heavily upon his father's law breaking.

Do you get the feeling that each republicon shits all over the White House and we Democrats have to clean it up? Well, it's because the US has Not prosecuted the criminals in the White House.

If these criminals are NOT prosecuted they will be back and may successfully kill democracy in America the next time.

[Phred42]

8. Actually, it first came out of Gerald Ford's mouth re: Nixon

and we (and democracy) have been going down hill ever since because of it.

[fasttense]

9. Perhaps, but the first repuke to bring it up in relation to

the bush administration was our idiot in Alaska, Palin.

[merh]

10. And it still pisses me off - I know politically astute folks who still

believe that Ford's pardon allowed our nation to "heal" - BULLSHIT!

It allowed them to get away with their crimes and it empowered them even more, they continue to get away with the wrongs and abuses because "dems" turn the other cheek.

To all elected leaders, "STOP" the damned cheek turning and do your job - ensure that the constitution is protected and that the laws of this land are upheld.

[mod mom]

11. Clinton swept criminal activity under the rug and look what it got us. A strenghtened BFEE!

EXPOSE IT & PROSECUTE IT WITH NO LENIENCY!

[edhopper]

12. Take the time to

read the comments. They are almost unanimously in agreement with Prof. Krugman. The Villagers, Pundits and Wash. Insiders would like us to believe that the country want s to move on. But we in "Real America" want justice served and do not want crimes to go unpunished.
This is not a divided country, we are united in our disgust of the soon to be ex-President.