They Did What !

I won't really address the issue of the liberal media in detail; I
believe it's more spin than fact. The major national newspapers (mostly
in the big cities) definitely lean towards the left, but there are
hundreds of examples of print media around the nation that lean the other
way, and the radio airwaves are dominated by the right wing. Also, you
bring up a good point about this so-called liberal bias not reflecting
much in the way of liberal values.

I do have my misgivings about Hillary Clinton. She has never "felt"
right to me, and I'm a person who relies on his instincts almost as
much as his intellect. Your mention of her as "part of the current
establishment" rings clearly. I"ve had difficulty trying to pin down
why I'm not enthusiastic about her other than to think she just
appears like the quintessential politician -- too much so, and not much
different than what we already see in government. Personally I'm sick
and tired of politicians. I long for the days of statesmen, as well as
authentic investigative journalists. I'm also tired of phony pundits,
and talking heads providing entertainment while mimicking corporate
sound bytes.

Thanks for widening my perspective. Yes, she seems to represent
business as usual.

There is another possibility that ruminates in my mind, namely that the
right wing seems to have also been behind her candidacy from the very
beginning. I recall Rush Limbaugh actually pushing her as the
Democratic frontrunner from the very beginning, and again hearing Sean Hannity
recently naming her as a virtual shoe in. I suspect they know she is a
very polarizing force among their listeners, and as such does not
have a chance to win in a national election.

As I look at the national picture, I see two huge negatives in her run
for the Presidency. She is a woman, and she is Hillary Clinton. I'm
not sure the nation is ready to elect a woman as President, especially
during a time of war, but if so, not this woman. The right wing
seems to despise her for various reasons, including her husband. I get to
chat with many Republicans on the Internet, and many seem to hate her
with an irrational vehemence. I suspect they also do not really care
for a strong, intelligent woman, one who will speak her mind.
Surprisingly, I have spoken with quite a few Republican women who appear to share
this perspective. Hillary just might be the catalyst that would turn
out a lot of single issue and ambivalent voters, namely to vote against
her.

No doubt many on the left would have no problem; I'm not among them.
I would vote for her if it came down to a race between her and
any Republican, which is probably the only scenario in which I would do
so. Once again, that gut feeling at work. I won't really know till I
get there. I know that sounds like hopeless political bias on my part,
but after what I've witnessed of Republican leadership in the last six
years, I'd be hard pressed to vote for any of them, even if they
still represented the party of Abraham Lincoln.

I used to be an Independent and proud of it. I even voted for Nixon for
his second term, believing that up till that point, he had not really
done anything bad. Many years ago, after witnessing two separate
Republican National Conventions in which the platform was literally hijacked
by the radical religious right, I knew it was time to change my
registration to the opposite party, purely out of self-defense.

Anyway, that's my two cents.

Stephen your comment about voting for Hilary rather than any Republican for President brings up something I have been struggling with.

This current administration has given us an up close and personal look at what happens when one party controls the White House and both houses of Congress. If the Democrats were in this same power position, I’m sure their abuses would be different from the ones committed by this Administration. But I do not doubt that there would be abuses. Unfortunately, mere mortals seem unable to resist the lure of taking advantage when they have the power to do so.

That leaves us with the question of how to give the Democrats the upper hand they need to restore the checks and balances necessary to keep our Republic alive, without giving them so much power that they corrupt the system in other ways. With the unwillingness to collaborate in a bipartisan way so prevalent in both houses, it is difficult to see how anything will get done if the Republicans control either house or, heaven forbid, retain the Presidency.

That brings up the issue of what we the people are ready to do. Will we exercise the degree of vigilance that would be needed if the Democrats have all the power? Or will we just sit by and watch as the pendulum swings to the other extreme?

Talk about a conundrum!

You bring up a few very good points. It's the old "absolute power corrupts absolutely" dynamic. Lord Acton had that one right.

I have to admit the Bush Administration has, for the first time in my lifetime, created a deep distrust in me concerning our government, a feeling that it may be something to fear. Nixon turned out to be driven by some greed, paranoid delusions and control issues, but never came close to the Machiavellian type scheming of the present administration which justifies it in the name of “keeping America safe from “terrorism” and “spreading democracy,” all the while eroding it here as part of the price.

I’ve never imagined anything approaching an Orwellian reality as much as what I’ve witnessed in the past five and a half years – the “perpetual war,” “newspeak” to misdirect the true meaning of a thing, and a level of secrecy and unaccountability which is frightening, and all blithely justified with the mantras of “national security” and “executive privilege.” Hell, we even have a Vice President who might belong to any branch of government on any given day, depending on which makes him safer from scrutiny.

The chronic and habitual lying, the insults to the Constitution, such as unauthorized warrantless wiretapping (now temporarily legalized of course), and signing statements (declared illegal by the ABA), and incompetent performance throughout the government justified as a viable substitute for not being able to remember, recall or know anything - just a few examples.

Yes, both sides of the aisle have always displayed a penchant for taking advantage of the system and their power, usually to benefit themselves - politics as usual. But none have come close to this present Administration, one facilitated so often by this Congress. The Congress changed hands, but the Democrat majority is not enough to affect the changes required, so we are bogged down in investigations instead. After all that has happened, and honestly believing the left is more concerned about the average person than is the right, I don’t feel such abuses on the present scale are very likely if and when the Democrats do come to power.

I agree with the need to restore the checks and balances that have been so drastically threatened. Yes, when a pendulum swings in one direction, it must come full swing again to balance itself. I do not totally trust either party, but for all the reasons I’ve given, my distrust of the right is quite a bit larger. I have to trust that a huge swing to the left for a time, might actually create the balance we’ve lost. It is very possible that because of the extensive abuses and incompetence of the last several years, the people will indeed rise up to demand the vigilance we both know is now necessary.

The one blessing I have seen in the last six years, is an awareness of the possibility of government gone amuck. The extent of the blatancy, transparency and abuses has been a real wake up call, not only to myself but many others on all sides.

As you said, I cannot remember another administration that has so totally misused and abused their power. Over and over, to myself and to others, I have wondered, “How can they get away with that?”

I agree with every egregious offense you named and I’m sure there are more which have yet to be known. Something else Lord Acton said applies to this administration: “Everything secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity.” Cheney especially needs to learn this.

Like a lot of others, I did not think it was possible for such things to happen in America. And that is one of the big reasons that it was possible – too many of us took our freedoms and privileges for granted. We forgot the warnings of the founding fathers about the need to guard our liberties. A wise man told me back in the 80’s that America was in danger of becoming a third world country. I thought he had lost a brick! Now I see how it could happen.

Yes, the Republicans have done terrible damage and I do not believe a Democratic government would be as bad. But fairness requires admitting that the Democrats are not just innocent bystanders. They have contributed to the mess we are in without, for the most part, accepting any responsibility for their contributions to it. It would be all too easy to think that giving the Democrats total power will fix the problems. My fear is that people would be placated by that shift in power and once again stop paying attention.

It is not a pleasant thing to know and I have not enjoyed learning about it, but under both Democratic and Republican leadership there have been many terrible offenses against our people and the people of other countries that both parties continue to keep hidden and continue to be a party to.

I do not want to settle for the lesser of two evils. Do you? I want to work toward systemic change so that we do not have to continue to accept the actions of misguided and egomaniacal politicians who think it is all right to do whatever as long as they say it is in the national interest.

I am not Pollyanna enough to think this will happen in my lifetime but I came to the conclusion some years ago that I would be happy with a tombstone that says “Here lies Trish. She tried.” I believe it is important to keep trying. As Samuel Adams once said, “It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds.”