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Bush & Cheney are traitors: Treat them as such
July 13, 2009 - 7:13am.
By DOUG THOMPSON

Forgive and forget my ass. It's time to investigate, prosecute and jail former President George W. Bush, former Veep Dick Cheney and other co-conspirators of the most corrupt, scandal-ridden administration in history.

Revelations over the weekend that Bush's domestic spying program was more widespread and illegal than previously thought and confirmation that Cheney ordered the CIA to lie to Congress are more than just the final nails in that administration's coffin. They are proof positive that Bush and his cronies routinely ignored the law and shredded the Constitution.

Bush was, is and always will be a scumbag, a vile meglomaniacal creature who exceeded his Constitutional authority time and again in an unrelenting assualt on the rights and freedoms of this country.

His administration, with assistance and compliance from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, created the Gestapo-like Department of Homeland Security, spawned the rights-robbing USA Patriot Act and turned the Constitution into toilet paper for the Oval Office bathroom.

But Barack Obama, who appeared to have sold both his soul and his balls to become President, told Democrats to back off investigating Bush and his many abuses. We must move on, Obama said, and forgive and forget. At one time, I agreed, caught up in Obama's Kumbaya rhetoric.

No more. George W. Bush and his henchmen did more to destroy the American way of life than any Islam-spouting heretic hiding in a cave in Afghanistan. His actions in Irag have killed more Americans than Osama bin Laden's attacks on September 11, 2001.

Attorney General Eric Holder broke ranks with Obama over the weekend and appears ready to pursue the Bushites for breaking international law on torture. Democrats like Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy and California Sen. Diane Feinstein say they want investigations into the criminal actions of Bush and his cabal.

It's past time to go after Bush for his many crimes against society. It's past time to put Cheney behind bars for the rest of his miserable life. It's past time for payback for what these bastards and bitches did to our government and our way of life.

These people are traitors to the United States of America.

They must be treated as such.

Doug Thompson

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Doug
I do not disagree with your premise. But I wonder if the net result the action you propose would be similar to asserting one's right of way by driving in front of a speeding truck.

What ever is now done to Bush will provide a template for political payback against future administrations. Which, IMO will sow the seeds of partisan warfare for generations to come.... much as the cultural wars of the Vietnam war era did.

Also, we can speculate about some future Bush administration contemplating it's fate after leaving office. Perhaps the prosecution you advocate would not provide a prophylactic against future abuse; perhaps instead it would motivate a future administration to protect itself by finding a way to not leave office.

I don;t think your argument holds any water.

We live in a political culture that already has the worst of partisan warfare. These idiotic characters don;t give a crap about America so why give in to them.

If an administration abides by the law then what recourse do the partisans have? ... will they try to indict an administration for following the law?

We already have precedent with the last administration of "covering" criminal activity by tying it to executive privilege.
The reason d'etre was for people to provide honest advise but what it really means is that advisers can now provide illegal advice without accountability.

This is a dangerous path to take for the preservation of our nation if this administration fails to pursue what certainly appears to be criminal activities within the White House.

As an aside, I believe Pres Obama is trying to thread a needle with blunt thread. What I mean by that is I believe he has tacitly given his ok for Holder to pursue alleged criminal activities while maintaining a public stance opposing it, thus providing some cover for the idea Ardy has mentioned, which would deflect from him and his agenda while doing what the DOJ is mandated to do.

The precedent already is established. Nixon and his associates were investigated, tried, and those who were convicted sent to prison (minus a few who died before sentencing). That round of accountability actually served the nation well.

Administrations who follow the law, and not bend the law as Yoo encourged the Bush Administration to do with Dick Cheney's encouragement and blessings - said Administration has nothing to worry about and only respect to gain.

I agree.

Andrew Sullivan writes about the GOP and Sarah Palin in particular:

Tar and feather...

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY!

"If we, the people of the United States of America, again lose our freedom it will be by our own lack of courage and faith and manhood."--Taylor Caldwell, "The Devil's Advocate" (1952) - pgs. 332 - 338

Very true.

Does Paraguay have an extradition treaty with the US?

I don't hold any optimism that the judicial process will yield what many would like to see happen to Bush and Cheney for their alleged abuses of power. I'm sure there are sacrifical lambs in place to shelter Bush and Cheney from any significant legal impacts that might emerge in the future.

I do believe that Americans who have fire in their bellies about Bush and Cheney's sins should abandoned their lynch mob mentality and hope that in some small way that history will note that during their terms that there were indeed many Executive Branch behaviors gone bad, and not in the interest of America.

But, if those in true power (the inner circle of the power corporations who own Washington) have anything to do with it...they will insure that records in history are skewed just enough to divert the public's eyes away from the direction it should be most concerned about.