Bush is a Liar. Bush Must Go.

By: Lowell
Published On: 4/6/2006 6:02:31 PM

We all know George W. Bush is incompetent.  We all know he's not the brighest bulb on the block. And we also know he heads one of the most corrupt, crony-laden Administration in U.S. history.  Now, we know that he's both a liar and a leaker of classified information.  Turns out that Bush denied any knowledge of leaked classified information a full 2 months after he specifically authorized Dick Cheney's former Chief of Staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, to do just that.

To put it mildly, this is very, very bad.  When Bill Clinton lied about consensual sex with "that woman," it was bad enough.  But Bush has lied to us about the reasons for going to war, about his budget projections, about global warming, and now about the leaking of classified information.  Oh yeah, then there's the small matter of the "outing" of an undercover CIA agent - Valerie Plame - by someone high up in the Bush Administration.  And the authorization of torture. And the illegal electronic eavesdropping on American citizens.  And the Katrina fiasco. And. And. And.

Look, if this guy can't be censured, nobody can.  If there were any justice in the world, or better yet an independent Congress, Bush should be impeached right now, along with Dick Cheney and the whole lot of crooks infesting the White House.  Unfortunately, the "culture of corruption" Republicans control Congress, leaving us...screwed, basically.
Meanwhile, the reaction today by two leading Democrats is going along the right path, but does't go nearly far enough:

"In light of today's shocking revelation, President Bush must fully disclose his participation in the selective leaking of classified information," Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said in a statement. "The American people must know the truth."

Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said, "The fact that the president was willing to reveal classified information for political gain and put the interests of his political party ahead of America's security shows that he can no longer be trusted to keep America safe."

Exactly right, Bush can no longer be trusted and the American people must know the truth about his "shocking" behavior.  That's all great in theory, but how are we going to make sure that Bush is held accountable in real life?  How can we ensure that justice is done?

Step #1: It's LONG past time for Democrats in Congress to stand up forcefully to Bush, to state clearly that his behavior is unacceptable and unconstitutional, and to take their case to the American people that there must be a massive overhaul of Congress this November.  A good start would be for Congressional Democrats to support Russ Feingold, that rare Congresscritter with guts, balls, and a spine.


Step #2: After Democrats - Jim Webb, first and foremost - take charge of the House and Senate in January 2007, they should immediately proceed to impeachment hearings against this lying, incompetent President, whose behavior has - at the bare minimum - come perilously close to the "high crimes and misdemeanors" standard set by the U.S. constitution.


Step #3: Americans need to make sure this never happens again, that they never let a President take them to war on a pack of lies, and that they never cede their precious freedoms in exchange for absolutely nothing. 

A hundred years from now, the question is this: will people look back on this era in horror and disgust, or will they say, "this was their finest hour?"  Let's hope, for the sakes of ourselves, our children and our grandchildren, that it's the latter.

Comments



Democrats must? (Greg Bouchillon - 4/6/2006 7:07:27 PM)
Lowell, aren't you being a bit optimistic about what the "Democrats" are going to do? Even with this information, I doubt we're going to see much action. Don't get me wrong, I love my party, but I'm tired of them hiding in the corner hoping no one beats them with a stick.


Oh, and (Greg Bouchillon - 4/6/2006 7:09:23 PM)
Is Jim Webb going to weigh in? I doubt we'll see something from Miller, but this is ripe for the picking. Our candidate standing with Feingold.


I didn't support a censure earlier on (DanG - 4/6/2006 7:15:19 PM)
When Russ Feingold first came up with the idea, I was against it.  I thought we needed to focus on other issues instead of what I viewed to be "publicity stunts."

Boy was I wrong.

Go get him, Russ.  Knock his head off.



I was wondering where you were (Greg Bouchillon - 4/6/2006 8:19:07 PM)
The blogosphere didn't have you around today Dan.


Classes (DanG - 4/6/2006 9:17:59 PM)
I'm still in college, dude.  Got to go to classes before I can blog ;).  Besides, I was up late last night with homework, and also making sure I had all the answers for the Kellam piece.


But wait... (Dan - 4/7/2006 9:46:38 AM)
"Bush can declassify anything he wants!  Why don't you leave the President alone.  I mean - he is the President.  You are saying he cannot DECLASSIFY..."

Yup folks,

  That is the "SPIN" on this issue.  You hear the press use the word "declassify" as if that is the issue.

  No.  The issue is that Joe Miller knew the nuclear thing, that was given as a reason to go to war, was bull.  Bush authorized a leak to keep the lie about the war going.  Bush lied about war.  That is the issue.  Not some stupid right to "declassify". 

  How about if I declassified your social security number?  If you told me your social security number, and never told me not to leak it, then I could probably do it.  Let's say I leaked it to a scam artist, who then used it to take your money?  I could still say that you told me the social security number, and I had every right to blab it to anyone I wanted. 

  That is what is going on here.  Bush did something wrong.  Something horribly wrong.  He lied about a war, and used a leak to halt his critics who were only trying to help the American people know the truth. 

  Don't buy into the "declassify" bullcrap!  Tell people how Bush lied about war and undermined the security of every American citizen!